Legacy?

When we read of the lives of the extraordinary, we often believe that somehow they knew that their lives would be legendary. We nurture the notion that these people had a sense of destiny. And because they were aware of their manifest destiny, they conducted themselves in a manner befitting a heroine or hero. They were intentional about doing great things and accomplishing great deeds. So, we believe that in order to live a life of consequence we must do likewise.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was martyred by the Nazis on April 9, 1945. He had been an outspoken critic of Hitler’s Reich. Through long months of confinement in various prisons across Germany, Bonhoeffer did his best to live the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. Through ministry and concern for his fellow prisoners, Dietrich did what he could do given the time and place where he lived. When he died at the end of a hangman’s noose, Bonhoeffer could not have foreseen the import his life and writings would have on future generations. He did not know the depths to which his life would touch the hearts and minds of those followers of Christ who would follow after him. No, Dietrich Bonhoeffer could only live as he chose to live and be the person he was. In the midst of extraordinary circumstances he lived a life of simple faithfulness to his Father.

Our legacy is determined by others. All of this talk of “leaving a legacy” is self-important self-aggrandizement. It is those who follow after us who will determine where we failed and where we succeeded. The best that we can do is to live faithfully in the moment in which we find ourselves. We can do no more than our best.