The legacy I want to leave is all about CHARACTER. I had two grandfathers. One of them used to be a terrible drunk. After my grandparents divorced, my maternal grandfather decided to straighten out his life. He became a Christian through Alcoholics Anonymous. He met a woman through the program, and they married. They became exemplary Christians.

They lived west of Fredericksburg, Virginia, 100 miles from my home in Baltimore. I got to see them 2-3 times a year as a child, and stayed with them for a week or two during my teen years every Summer.

Granddaddy was an owner of a General Store, and a Deacon in the Church. Grandmommie could cook so well that I could eat a plate of food go away from the dinner table for 10 minutes, and return to eat another plate.

Granddaddy made lots of friends in the poor rural area where he lived. He embraced race differences. He loved everybody. He drove up to 10 miles every Sunday morning to pick up people who didn’t have transportation and take them to church.

The people in his home county loved him so much that he was voted to the County Board of Supervisors in 1975. His peers on the Board elected him to the Head of the Board immediately.

He served until he had to retire in April 1975. He had stomach cancer, ad died in June that year.

The County’s Office Building was constructed and named in his honor in November 1976.

I’ll never forget that day. The county collected some of his artifacts, and put them in a showcase. A particular book was opened to a page called, “SELFLESSNESS.” That page fit my grandfather’s character to a “T”. I put that character into my life immediately. I accepted Jesus as my Savior in August that year.

I went to church meetings with Granddaddy. He never spoke the gospel directly to me. What I saw in him was that he was LIGHT: Winning People to Christ Without Saying a Word to me.

Granddaddy left me a legacy of love and selflessness. I picked up on it and put it into my own life with my children. I never pushed them into believing faith in Jesus. I let them make their own decisions. One child became a Christian at six years old. The other one became a Christian at 17. They are walking with the Lord at 34 and 28.

My granddaughter is five months old as of this writing. Where do I start with her? LOVE. That’s where we should start witnessing with all of our grandchildren. Then we earn the right to speak to them. Jesus becomes more palatable for a person to receive if we model Christ-like character. They have a better chance for receiving our testimony.

Remember, you’re not the ones to save them. God is. Seting a godly example for them and living an authentic Christian life before them will speak volumes into their lives, even after you’re gone. Start with sincere LOVE.

RICHARD SZALECKI is a regular contributor to Christian grandfather Magazine. He has recently answered an invitation from God to start a new endeavor: He’s going to be leading a group of Pakistani, Kenya, and India Christian Leaders by bringing people together, teaching the word of God, and meeting with the group once a week to share fellowship and answer questions. Pray for him. His target date to launch online is August 4. He has taught some leaders since 2019.

Image by DeepAi