As a president's tenure nears completion, we begin hearing about his legacy. A legacy can be a person's possessions, wisdom, or the lessons learned from that person's life. Have you ever wondered what your legacy will be, what you will leave behind for future generations?
Daniel of the Old Testament was a young Jewish captive living in a foreign land. We remember the story about how he and his friends refused to bow down to the king and were thrown to the lions. The story of Daniel's faith and courage is quite memorable.
But we may not also remember that later on Daniel interpreted the dreams of that same king, and as a result was promoted to be the king's chief advisor (Daniel 2). If the story ended there, those facts alone would be remarkable. But many scholars believe that Daniel's influence, his legacy to the Babylonian people and to us, was a prophesy that a future Messiah who would be born in his native land.
Daniel's most important legacy may have been the reason why 500 years later Magi from that area of the east followed a star to Israel to find a newborn king, to worship Him and then to return to their own country with the good news. Thus today, over the doorway of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, an inscription is carved in stone regarding the birth of a king, words written in the Persian language that originated near the land of Daniel's captivity. Daniel's legacy was not only the lions den, but may also have been the journey Wise Men.
You and I don't know what our legacy will be, but it will be more than possessions. They will fade. No one remembers Daniel's wealth, but all who know of him remember his faith. And perhaps some even remembered a godly prediction that moved Wise Men from the east to come and worship their Savior.
Wise men (and women) still come and worship Jesus.
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