Legacy.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Legacy. I think that living for something larger than yourself is an art. Many folks live for the simple principle of “What’s in it for me?” but to truly live your life now for the benefit of someone else later is something worth applauding. And our society is full of folks that are living a legacy as we speak. I began wandering down this train of thought last night…
I drove the cheerleader’s bus for a Cabot High School basketball game last night. The game was at Central High School in Little Rock, a very famous historical landmark in Arkansas, and national, history. I was just feet from the very place where 9 brave high school students, with the support and encouragement of those like Daisy Bates, stood up for what was right, in spite of the tremendous cost to themselves. Did they really want to attend a white’s only school that bad? Were they that desperate to make the news? I don’t think that was it at all. I’ve read interviews and writings of a few of the Little Rock Nine, and I think their motivation was legacy. They wanted folks that were coming after them to not have to walk through a riot, mocking, and armed guards to get to school because of their skin color.
Sometimes it’s the simple things that grab my heart more than anything else. Maybe it was the rich history of the school, or maybe I was just being sentimental. But last night I couldn’t help but admire the fact, at the game, that there we were – red and yellow, black and white – all sitting in the same gym, watching the same ballgame. On the court were players of many skin tones, all playing the same game. We have our problems in America, yes. But over time, because of the legacy and stand of so many, we have gradually gotten more and more things right.
We had to drive down Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive to get to the school last night. And as I sat watching that game with all those thoughts racing through my mind, I had to wonder – is this what he was dreaming about? Was he daydreaming of the day when we would live lives with one another, regardless of skin color, and it just wouldn’t be a big deal anymore? It doesn’t make the front page of the newspaper when a black student and a white student play on the same sports team, or use the same public restroom, or attend the same school. It’s just life now. Maybe, in many ways, we’re living the dream already.
I am a believer, and I love my Christ. I love His Word, and it is my absolute, settled forever rule of faith and practice. It has a great deal to say about prejudice and judging someone’s value on their outward appearance. MLK, Jr. knew the word as a pastor and servant of Christ. God’s Word motivated him to stand up as strongly as he did.
I want a legacy that stems from the Word too. I want someone’s life to be better tomorrow because I lived today. That’s a legacy.


That’s just a thought, and I welcome yours.
Until next time,
blake

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