Nearing Home by Billy Graham (best book club books for discussion txt) 📗

we are faced with is, are we shunning the opportunities that come our way to be an influence for good, or are we being irresponsible in our encounters with those who may take to heart what we have to contribute? The Bible instructs generations to pass on what has been learned. Our youth need to say with the psalmist,

We have heard with our ears, O God,

Our fathers have told us,

The deeds You did in their days,

In days of old. (Psalm 44:1 NKJV)

Long after you are gone, what will your children and grandchildren remember about you? Sometimes the elderly miss their opportunities. They are too engrossed in their ailments and can be solely responsible for running people off—even grandchildren.

Some time ago a young man wrote to me and said, “I wish I could say I have good memories of my grandmother, but all I remember about her is that she seemed very old, and she was always grumbling and complaining about everything.” Another wrote, “My grandfather always made our visits fun, but after we left we would never hear from him.” A disheartened daughter stated, “My parents are so wrapped up in themselves that all they’ve been interested in since they retired is having a good time. I wonder if I’ll be like that when I get older. I hope not.”

I hope not, too, because this is not the way God wants us to spend our latter years. Complaining, being unengaged or self-indulgent—what kind of impression are these attitudes sure to make on those who follow us? What will they remember about us if we are like this? More important, what do these attitudes teach them about life and how it ought to be lived? The answer is: very little, and nothing that is good.

But God doesn’t want us to waste our latter years or spend them in superficial, meaningless pursuits. Instead He wants us to use them in whatever ways we can to influence those who will come after us. God wants us to finish well—and one of the ways we do this is by passing on our values and our faith to those who will follow us.

LEAVING A LEGACY

Our children are not like computers; we can’t program them so they will always do exactly what we want them to do or turn out exactly the way we wish they would. It is one of life’s mysteries: two children can be brought up in the same family and in the same way yet turn out to be exact opposites as they grow older. Parents know every child is different, and even with the best training, some children may reject our efforts to guide them. The best we can do is provide the right environment—love them and train them and pray for them and provide them the tools they will need to make wise decisions as they grow older. We do this both by our teaching and by our example—in other words, both by what we say and by what we do.

As parents we have a direct influence on our children; later on our influence on our grandchildren probably will be much less direct. Sometimes this isn’t the case, of course; due to death or divorce or some other situation, grandparents may have to step in and assume the role of parents. But by and large our opportunities to influence both our own children and our grandchildren fade as we grow older.

But that does not mean we don’t have any influence on them—because we do. Nor does it mean our influence is insignificant—because it isn’t. In fact, it may turn out to be one of the most important things we will ever do. Even if we don’t have grandchildren or if we are childless or single, we still have an important and unique legacy to pass on to the next generation—and beyond. They are observing us, and they will learn from our lives.

Think about it a moment: How will they learn about the realities of old age and how to cope with them? Or how will they learn about the importance of building their lives on a strong foundation of faith in Christ and His Word? Or how will they discover the difference that Christ can make in someone’s life, especially as they grow older? The answer is obvious: they will learn these things by observing those who are already older.

Our Greatest Legacy

The greatest legacy you can pass on to your children and grandchildren is not your money or the other material things you have accumulated in life. The greatest legacy you can pass on to them is the legacy of your character and your faith. The same is true for other young people who know us and observe us even if they aren’t related to us.

This, after all, is what our grandchildren and others who knew us will remember about us after we are gone—for better or for worse. If our character is bad, marked by greed or thoughtlessness or anger or bitterness or selfishness or irresponsibility or a lack of integrity or any other negative quality, this is how we will be remembered. But if our character and integrity have been shaped by Christ over the years, they can’t help but see this and remember it.

Why is faith our greatest legacy? Because the memory of what we were like—not just our personalities but our character and our faith—has the potential to influence others for Christ.

My parents had a profound impact on me. My mother’s kind and gentle character and concern for the spiritual welfare of others are reaping fruit still today. Although her formal education was limited, she loved the Bible and spent a great deal of time teaching the Bible to others. I recall also with deep gratitude my father’s example of honesty, integrity, discipline, and hard work.

I remember as a young man observing an older couple who lived in our community. They enjoyed one another’s company, never realizing the impact they were