May 15th, 2026
by Pastor Michael Goins
by Pastor Michael Goins
A Legacy
Scripture: Psalm 145:1-4
Devotional:
One generation doesn't simply leave behind the works of God for the next to stumble upon, they proclaim (shabach) them. They shout them aloud, unashamedly, so their children will not only know God but desire Him.
Legacy, at its truest, is not what we accumulate. It is what we proclaim.
Notice what this verse doesn't say. It doesn't say we pass down wealth, reputation, or personal achievement. We proclaim His works. We tell of His mighty acts. That's both freeing and sobering: freeing, because the legacy doesn't depend on how impressive our lives appear; sobering, because it requires that we actually know His works, that we've paid attention and can point to the places where God showed up.
Legacy is built in ordinary moments like when you pray out loud so your children hear you trust God, when you share not just your victories but your valleys and how He met you there, when you choose, again and again, to make God the subject of the story rather than yourself.
The question is simple and searching: What are you proclaiming?
I didn't fully understand legacy until I was cradling my frail mother, returning her to her bed. She looked up at me and asked , "Michael, do you remember that book?" Absolutely! I knew exactly what she was referring to, Love You Forever. She smiled then said, "You be a good daddy to them babies. Raise them right. Always be there for them. You hear me, Michael?"
I'd always missed the moral of Love You Forever. It isn't about the son cradling the mother the way she once cradled him because the book ended with the son cradling his child. It's that the mother had poured such a legacy of love into her son that her grandchildren would feel it too. As long as that legacy of love lived, so did she.
At her passing, I felt a strange weight settle on my shoulders, not a burden, but a calling. Being my mom’s only child, one of her dearest friends told me, "As long as you are living, so will your mom's legacy."
She was right. My momma’s legacy lives on as I love my children the way she loved me. And she loved with a Godly love. She proclaimed His love!
What a LEGACY!
Scripture: Psalm 145:1-4
Devotional:
One generation doesn't simply leave behind the works of God for the next to stumble upon, they proclaim (shabach) them. They shout them aloud, unashamedly, so their children will not only know God but desire Him.
Legacy, at its truest, is not what we accumulate. It is what we proclaim.
Notice what this verse doesn't say. It doesn't say we pass down wealth, reputation, or personal achievement. We proclaim His works. We tell of His mighty acts. That's both freeing and sobering: freeing, because the legacy doesn't depend on how impressive our lives appear; sobering, because it requires that we actually know His works, that we've paid attention and can point to the places where God showed up.
Legacy is built in ordinary moments like when you pray out loud so your children hear you trust God, when you share not just your victories but your valleys and how He met you there, when you choose, again and again, to make God the subject of the story rather than yourself.
The question is simple and searching: What are you proclaiming?
I didn't fully understand legacy until I was cradling my frail mother, returning her to her bed. She looked up at me and asked , "Michael, do you remember that book?" Absolutely! I knew exactly what she was referring to, Love You Forever. She smiled then said, "You be a good daddy to them babies. Raise them right. Always be there for them. You hear me, Michael?"
I'd always missed the moral of Love You Forever. It isn't about the son cradling the mother the way she once cradled him because the book ended with the son cradling his child. It's that the mother had poured such a legacy of love into her son that her grandchildren would feel it too. As long as that legacy of love lived, so did she.
At her passing, I felt a strange weight settle on my shoulders, not a burden, but a calling. Being my mom’s only child, one of her dearest friends told me, "As long as you are living, so will your mom's legacy."
She was right. My momma’s legacy lives on as I love my children the way she loved me. And she loved with a Godly love. She proclaimed His love!
What a LEGACY!
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