Legacy

Legacy. Dictionary.com says legacy is "anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor" or "inheritance." We attended John Wilkinson's funeral on Saturday. This was a man that we had met a couple of times. We enjoyed hearing him tell stories of how he minsitered to the youth of Chicago and definitely had fun doing it. He was the father of a good friend of ours. As I watched at least six of his children and three other relatives lead praise and worship to begin their father's funeral, I thought about the legacy he left. As I listened to his daughter share of his tough love balanced by his love for life and fun, I got a peak into how he passed on this legacy to his family. When his daughter shared of putting a scratch in their brand new Bonneville she was shocked to not get in trouble but only to have her dad tell her "We use things and love people." As I listened to this man's business partner, I heard of how John never let an opportunity go by to share the love of Jesus to someone. John stands out in this world, because he didn't live as if this world was everything. He knew there was much more, and he wanted everyone he met to experience the greatest life. As I held my sleeping son in my arms, I prayed to God that by His grace Jonathon and I could pass on the legacy of truly living, of serving God above everything this world may offer.

John had a smile that would light up any room, and that smile came out of an inexpressible joy that we as followers of Jesus are free to experience every day. We celebrated John's life Saturday. And I couldn't help but think that everyone in that room could celebrate partly because John made sure that each person had heard of the love of Jesus, for whom he lived....amazing!