The Covid-19 pandemic is an uncomfortable reminder of how short life is and how important it is to live life fully. It also makes me think about what it means to leave a personal legacy and what God says about leaving a legacy? The well-known and inspiring preacher, Reverend Erlo Stegen, has been building a legacy of positive change over many decades and has set a good example with his mission, KwaSizabantu.
When you talk about a legacy, most people think of leaving behind money and possessions for the next generation. A legacy, however, is not limited to money or possessions, but has more to do with how you want people to remember you after you’ve passed on. It refers more to how someone enriched the lives of others that reveals what that life was all about to family, friends, and community. Shannon Alder said, “Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.”
So, what is a legacy, and how do we leave one? In short, a legacy is when you use your God-given talents and calling to benefit others. The influence we have on others determines our legacy. It is not our goal to live forever but rather to create something that will.
Numerous people have demonstrated what it means to leave a legacy so that future generations would benefit from it. These people make a difference in the communities in which they operate and leave the world a better place than when they found it. Reverend Erlo Stegen is one of our country’s most inspiring missionaries, an entrepreneur, a farmer at heart, and a philanthropist of note.
To fully appreciate the value of his legacy to mankind, one should evaluate his presence in the context of his past. Stegen’s early years were spent on his family farm in KwaZulu Natal which made him a farmer at heart. He had a strong desire to spread the gospel amongst the Zulu people from a young age and consequently started a mission. For over 50 years he had dutifully lived out his calling to uplift the community and combined it with his love for farming and changed many lives whilst making an impact. His original vegetable gardens, meant to feed ever-growing church-goers developed into many hectares of greenhouses that now impact food security for countless families.
Reverend Stegen’s legacy is one of positive change, and his example is one of faithfulness. God calls ordinary people and He provides the resources to realise the calling in His way and time.
