Being and Leaving a Legacy

 

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because 

we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God's people- the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world- just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God's grace. You learned it from Epaphras..."

~ Colossians 1:3-7~

I've been reading and re-reading Colossians the past week or two and was struck by this passage. With my first stint year quickly coming to an end I've been reflecting a lot on what it looks like to be a fruitful disciple of Christ. When you define that in terms of seeing people coming to Christ, I don't really have any fruit from my ministry time in Japan. Spiritually, people move very slowly here. There is very little tangible fruit or change even after years of faithful labor and prayer. 

This became an even greater reality for me this past week. It was the first week of the new school term when all the freshmen come to campus for their orientations. All of the clubs set up tables and hand out flyers, trying to recruit new members.

My team of eight joined the chaos at Waseda trying to meet freshmen with spiritual interest surveys and flyers promoting our English Talk time at the campus. We prayed for big things and took big steps of faith.

In earthly terms of success our efforts last week failed. No new students came to our first two events of the week, and only four came to our final event, a movie and discussion night. After all the hours of planning, preparation, and actually being on campus, frustration and discouragement would be a completely reasonable response.

But I believe the Lord gave me this passage in Colossians to keep me in a healthy mindset for this weeks' challenges. Even though we didn't have tons of new students come to our events or find many people who were spiritually open, we got to be part of the Lord's work here in Japan. We got to be part of seeing the gospel bearing fruit throughout the whole world, as Paul talks about in verse six. 

The humble efforts we make now are, by the power of the Holy Spirit, seeds planted in peoples' hearts that God-willing, will be watered and tended until they grow into gospel-believing disciples. The gospel is alive and well in Japan, it is changing people from the inside out and transforming the culture bit by bit. 

Besides regaining perspective on my role in the Great Comission, I was also reminded by Paul that I am the legacy of others before me. People have been teaching, shepherding, encouraging, and praying for me my whole life. Their example and faithfulness along with the Lord's great mercy on me is why I'm in Japan to share my faith with others. Because they poured into me, the work I do now is part of their legacy. They are my Epaphras. 

It's an honor to be someone else's legacy in Christ. It's a privilege to be serving the Lord and building a legacy of my own for his glory. And it's a delight to be reminded by Paul that the gospel has been growing throughout the whole world just as it has since the day I first heard it and believed. I have faith that this will remain true here in Japan.