Leaving a Lasting Legacy: They’ll be Gone Before You Know It

Leaving a Lasting Legacy
They’ll be Gone before You know It

INTRODUCTION:
“Nobody on his deathbed ever said, ‘I wish I’d spent more time at the office” - Peter Lynch

Do you have unforgettable moments that are etched on your mind as a father?

When we think seriously about our roles, we realize that we have very little time with our kids before they leave home. The time we spend together as a family is but a passing vapor.

They will be gone before you know it.

Listen to the words of the apostle Paul - Ephesians 5:15-17.

DADS, WALK WISELY - 5:15:
We must have God’s wisdom if we want to lead our families to heaven; otherwise, they will self-destruct in a heartbeat.

There are only two paths that each of us take on a daily basis: the world’s wisdom or God’s wisdom. They very often look alike but they lead to two very different places.

In an airport terminal, you can have one plane that is heading north to Detroit while another plane is flying west to San Francisco. The waiting areas might be right next to each other, but their destinations are thousands of miles apart.

As dads, we have to be careful what plane we board because it can determine our own destiny and it can impact the destiny of our children as well.

The wisdom of the world is centered on what man thinks is good and right and pragmatic. The wisdom of the world is also changing constantly. God’s wisdom comes from God and His word; it is holy, righteous, and gentle (James 3:13).

Unfortunately, most people don’t stop to evaluate where their wisdom is leading them, but God’s word tells us: Proverbs 14:12.

So Paul says “be careful how you walk.”

“Wisdom” referred to the ability a craftsman had to complete a responsibility. Godly wisdom is the ability to weave the words of God into your daily life, making application in appropriate ways. It is the ability to see life from God’s perspective and so apply God’s teachings.

DADS, MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME - 5:16:
Americans have been busier than ever nowadays. We live in the information age but having a computer in the form of a phone has made us busier than ever.

At one time, before the industrial revolution, fathers and sons would work together in the field or in the shop. They would spend lots of time together from day light to sun down. But that’s not the way life is anymore.

How often have you used any of these phrases: no time, lack of time, not enough time, or being out of time? Of course, we all have the same amount of time in a day - 24 hours. You can’t get more than that out of a day and you not get less than that amount of time out of a day.

There are two important words that demand our attention from the verse of Paul: time and “make the most.”

“Time” here refers to the opportunity to do something significant. It refers to an opportunity. When it comes to being a father or being a parents, it suggests that each minute we have, each hour that we have, each day that we have, we will not get it a second time. We have that moment and what are we doing with it?

The words to “In Pictures” by Alabama.

They’ll be gone before you know it. In order to make our days count, we have to cut out things from our lives that are not important, that are not significant. That means sometimes we have to cut out good things, in order to focus on what is best. The film editor for Walt Disney who worked on the movie Snow White, Ward Kimball, said he worked 240 days on a 4 1/2 minute segment of the movie where the dwarfs made soup for Snow White and almost destroyed the kitchen. It was a funny scene, but Disney cut it out because it stopped the flow of the movie.

If God replays the film of our lives before His eyes on the day of judgment, what will our lives show was most important to us?

In Psalm 90:12, the psalmist prays to God, “Teach us to number our days so we may present to you a heart of wisdom.”

“Make the most” in the Greek language denotes buying sometime from the marketplace. That’s why the KJV has “redeem” the time. The idea here is that time costs you; what you spend time doing costs you time spent doing something else. What are you going to spend in order to train your children to know Jesus Christ and follow His word?

Norman Rockwell’s painting Breaking Home Ties.

Of course, how we use our time is impacted by our priorities. Dads, make the most of your time, because they will be gone before you know it.

DADS, THE DAYS ARE EVIL - 5:16:
Christian fathers need to be aware that the times in which we are living are evil times. We can’t afford to have our heads in the sand because if we do, Satan will be glad to raise our children for us.

Because the family is the cornerstone of society, when the family collapses, the society will collapse. The church of Christ grew and thrived during the decline of the Roman Empire because the church in the 2nd-4th centuries lived the Gospel in their lives. While the Romans were suffering from a high rate of divorce and immorality and adultery and abortion and a lack of respect and appreciation for children, the church grew. When the Roman Empire collapsed, the church grew and thrived and still exists today.

And our society is reverting back to what the Roman Empire was during the days of the apostle Paul.

Dads are entrusted by God with the souls of their wives and the souls of their children in their hands. The research is clear that men who end up in jail grew up without a healthy father or father-figure in their lives. Children who grow up with their dads active members of a church are far more likely to have healthy, happy, stable homes and be active members of the church themselves. That’s the way God designed the home. And when you work God’s designs, you will get God’s results.

Dads, behind Jesus Christ, you are the greatest need that your children and that our society has! The days are evil.

DADS, UNDERSTAND THE WILL OF THE LORD - 5:17:
It takes more than just knowing the will of God; we must put it into practice. Dads, we have to know the way to heaven and we have to walk on that path to heaven and we have to show our children the way to heaven.

First, dads, Paul clearly teaches here that we can understand the will of God. When you read the Word of God, as the Holy Spirit directs your heart toward God, you should ask from a text: Is there a command to obey? Is there an attitude to show? Is there a promise to embrace? Is there a sin to avoid?

Secondly, God will respond to our prayers. We have to trust that. James 1:5. Prayer is our heart talking to God’s heart. Prayer is our heart talking to God’s heart. Enter into the heart of God in your prayers and talk to Him about what is on your mind and heart.

Third, embrace the godly counsel of other Christians. From God’s plan, elders of a church are chosen from the older men in the congregation for a reason. There are also lots of other older men who are wise; older women who are wise and they can give good advice to both young men and young women. I dare say that there is not a problem that has struck our younger generation - let me say from 50 and down - that has not already struck someone of us who are 50 and above. I doubt if you have experienced any trials or tragedies or questions in your life that the older generation has not already faced. “In the abundance of counselors, there is victory” (Prov. 11:14).

The best way to prepare our children for tomorrow is to use wisely today.

Rachel and I were visiting with my younger brother and his wife and children this past week along with our sister who came up from Florida for my niece’s high school graduation. My brother plays some golf and one of his daughters played golf in high school and a boy friend of another daughter plays some golf. I was almost locked entirely out of that discussion! But, one thing my brother pointed out is that you always have to focus on the next shot, regardless of what happened with your last shot.

Coach Nick Saban emphasized the same thing when he was the coach for Alabama. Whatever you did on your last play - forget it. Concentrated on the next play.

You and I can get so hung up on what has happened in the past, what sins we have committed or what silly or stupid decisions we have made in the past, that we forget to live in the present and concentrate on what good we can do right now.

If we want to leave a spiritual legacy of core spiritual values in our children’s lives, we have to understand the will of the Lord and live the will of the Lord in our lives each day. Because we only get one shot; they’ll be gone before we know it!

Take home message: Walk wisely; make the most of your time; the days are evil; walk in the will of Jesus Christ.