2 Chronicles 9:13-31

“So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.” (2 Chronicles 9:22, NKJV)

Have you ever stood next to a giant sequoia tree? They are massive. Some have been made into tunnels that you can drive a car through. They grow as tall as 300 feet and as wide as 50 feet. Now it takes them a long, long time to mature. The oldest sequoias are 3,200 years old! Yet they all begin as a tiny seed from a cone.

Solomon was a sequoia among the kings of the earth. He had wisdom, wealth and glory like no one else. He was born into privilege, and at first he feared God. But in his later years his many foreign wives turned his heart away from the LORD. The legacy he left behind is that all the riches, fame, women and accomplishments a man can desire will not ultimately satisfy him. Solomon wrote:

“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2, NKJV)

I would hate to come to the end of my life saying this. It is a great tragedy to climb the ladder of success only to find that it is leaning on the wrong wall.

The apostle Paul was a sequoia among Christians. When he came to the end of his life, he wrote:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7–8, NKJV)

Just as every sequoia begins as a seed, so every life begins with a choice…or really a series of choices. We make our choices, and then our choices turn and make us. Each of us is either sowing to the flesh or to the Spirit and from this we will either reap corruption or everlasting life (Galatians 6:7-8).

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9, NLT)

We are each leaving behind a legacy. Others are watching and will imitate our example. Let’s purpose in our hearts to make it good.