We measure lots of things: Waistlines, heights of our growing kids, amounts of specific ingredients in a recipe, dimensions of a room, “wingspans” of aspiring professional athletes. Good carpenters excel at measuring – they measure twice, then cut once. Perhaps the most important measure of all, however, is the measure of a person’s life – the impact that endures long after they’re gone.
One phrase often used for this is “leaving a legacy." As we grow older, it’s something many of us think about increasingly. Because when all has been said and done, the measure of our lives won’t be how much money we earned, stuff we accumulated, titles we earned at work, places we visited, or other tangible things like that. A legacy reflects the mark we’ve made, the impact we had on the lives of people encountered along life’s journey.
When we think legacy, we tend to think about the accomplishments of famous people – George Washington, Marie Curie, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, Elvis Presley, Mother Teresa. And without question they made invaluable contributions to our world. But we don’t have to be celebrated statesmen, inventors, scientists, entertainers or humanitarians to leave a legacy. We all will leave one, for better or worse.
Recently, a friend of mine, a mentor of sorts for a couple of years, passed from this life. Before I had the bright idea to take drum lessons again – decades after the last time I held drumsticks – I’d never heard of Bill Brewer. Turned out he was a celebrity of sorts in the world of musical entertainment, particularly that of country music.
Bill’s career spanned several decades. Another friend, also a drummer, described him as “the closest thing Chattanooga has ever had to a drumming legend. And we have produced some amazing talent from here.” And yet, while drumming expertise will always be part of what he’s remembered for, Bill’s greatest legacy was the impact he had on his students – mostly younger people – who developed into skilled drummers in their own right under his tutelage.
For years he groomed drummers who played at our church’s various venues, and as his wife, Milagra, said, “his students will cherish the memory of Mr. B as their drum teacher and mentor.”
A committed Christ follower, Bill had a literal “come to Jesus moment” years ago when he experienced a serious accident in his van while driving back from one of his concert gigs. He escaped with only cuts and bruises, but that event helped him realize it was time to reorder his priorities, including his marriage.
Even though he loved playing drums and remained in demand, Bill chose to devote the rest of his life to serving the Lord very intentionally, including playing regularly with the worship teams at our church. But his greatest impact was teaching drumming – and imparting to his students what it means to have an active faith in Christ.
During my lessons with him we often spent a portion of the time talking about the Scriptures and the exhortation to “do your work for the Lord…knowing you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward” (Colossians 3:23-24). Well before Bill was diagnosed with cancer, we had frequently discussed how his legacy ultimately would carry on through the lives and hearts of the students he had trained.
After many years of enduring and enjoying the grind of being on the road playing country music, he had discovered the truth of Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Of course, we can’t all be drummers and drum teachers. But whatever God has called us to do, whatever gifts He’s entrusted to us, we can use to serve and honor Him – and to point others to Him, helping them to see and understand what it means to live one’s faith on a daily basis, imperfectly but consistently.
We can do this as an educator, physician or nurse, contractor or construction worker, retail clerk or salesperson, engineer or CPA, writer or editor, chef or baker, attorney or law enforcement officer, airline pilot or Uber driver, executive or administrative assistant, or volunteer. As Jesus challenged His disciples shortly before ascending to heaven, “…you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Whatever we do, wherever we go, we can be like Joshua who declared, “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Our determination to do so will truly be the measure of our lives. As British missionary C.T. Studd wrote in a simple poem,
“Only one life, ‘twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
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