Legacy

              So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (II Peter 1:12-15)

 

As people reach a certain point in their lives, they sometimes become concerned about their legacies. Good parents may not think in terms of “legacies,” but they still hope to raise children who will be good. This is what Peter was writing about here. He longed for the people who read the letter to be changed by what he said and to be his legacy. But it wasn’t so much about its being Peter’s legacy as it was about the content of the legacy. There were things he wanted others to know and to remember, and he wrote his letters to give them a way to remember them even after he was gone.

Of course, Peter walked with Jesus while Jesus walked the Earth in a physical body. That sort of legacy is impressive and not something we could equal. At the same time, Peter’s experiences, especially after millennia, are often assumed to be either madness or lies. I’m not saying they were. But what of us? We may not have as dramatic a testimony to pass on, but the people who know us may find it more believable because they know us and because it’s not dramatic.