A Legacy of Drips

Growing Daily

The aging house hadn’t been painted in years. The once-bright walls had faded, and weathered stains beneath the windows were like dark circles under its eyes after a sleepless night.

This home didn’t belong to me, but I was tasked with repainting it. What seemed like a routine job became far more demanding when I discovered something that even the most beautiful paint couldn't hide: old drips.

Whoever last painted the house had left hardened paint drips everywhere. Each one had to be painstakingly scraped away. If I simply painted over them, they'd look like my drips. I had inherited a legacy of old drips.

Scripture reminds us that our mistakes and failures rarely end with us. Adam and Eve, for example, left consequences that affected every generation after them.

In contrast, Paul urged Timothy to leave a different kind of legacy: “Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me... shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus... Carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you” (2 Timothy 1:13-14).

God calls us to be faithful “painters.” Our words, choices, and examples leave marks on those who come after us. May we leave behind a legacy of righteousness and truth, not drips of compromise for someone else to scrape away.

In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “A righteous man is one who lives for the next generation.”

- Ron Reid