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PGA Chaplain Bible StudiesWeekly Study No 14 - 23/06/2009 Ecclesiastes Ch 4:13-16 “Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning. The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind”. (Ecclesiastes Chapter 4: verses 13 to 16 NIV). Our Legacy we leave behind!There are two realities we find very hard in life to cope with; one is retiring and the other is dying. When either of these two things happens, in most cases someone is there to take our place. I remember well a minister who said to me that you measure success of your ministry not by what you achieve while you are there, but what kind of community you leave behind. What is hard for us is to let go of power and to realise that our influence is limited and there is nothing we can do about it. We find meaning in being able to accomplish things in our life and one day we must past them on to a successor What you achieve may be appreciated or maybe not. This uncertainty makes our author cautious of advancement; even in the case of dramatic improvements from being in prison to becoming a nation’s leader. Tiger Woods is driven by the goal to surpass Jack Nicholas as the greatest golfer of all time, measured by how many major championships they have win. Most of us think he will do it. We have been privileged to live in an era when we have seen both of them play. But we don’t know in a 100years if they will still be remembered with the same appreciation as we give them. Our author like Job’s advisors; assumes that wisdom is found in the elderly. This is not always the case. The elderly can easily succumb to the idea that they have nothing left to learn in life or to grow in. When we become like that it is easy to become stale and hard to live with. This is like a foolish King who lives in the good old days and not the present. Then there is the new ideas, the fresh faces of the youth who believe they can change the world but don’t realise you cannot do it without bringing the people with you. The young find it so hard to persevere and when problems arise find it easier to move on to greener pastures that will also turn brown in time. Our biggest challenge is to impart wisdom rather than let it slip by because we cannot relate to others who are different. There is only one person that I know that I am sure whose legacy will never fade. That is of Jesus Christ. The reason for this is that Jesus is eternal and he still lives today. He has reconciled us to God and it is in God that we boast. That is why we are encouraged to see our identity in him and not in any of our achievements or advancements. By identifying ourselves with Jesus we find a place in life where we can rest, are loved by God, and motivated to be the best we can. And at the end of the day, with God, there is always a tomorrow. Gracious God, Thank you for Jesus whose legacy never ends. Amen
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