These are the words that came across my computer this week, and what I’ve been pondering since.
Many of us go through life taking for granted the short time we have on earth to make our mark, I suspect. Others of us make profound statements with our life. Most of us, I believe, carry on family for another generation.
My life mission is to share hope and God’s love in the world. That doesn’t seem to be profound on the surface of things but, if you think about it, many people today live without hope and don’t know or see how God works in our lives. People need examples of goodness and hope.
It would be great for many of us if our legacy where to build a skyscraper, or a great work of art, or invent a disease curing drug, or like Thomas Edison with the light bulb. But the more noble legacy is to get others, especially our family, to Heaven. That can have an impact three generations deep!
So, after we die there may be things we did in this world that may be remembered, but what is more important I think is the people who help others because of how we have helped them. Our name may not be on it, but it will be in God’s book of Christian service.
I agree with your assessment. I suppose I would put it this way: “Our chief purpose is to glorify God. We do this through obedience to His revealed will and in a life of service to Him and our fellow man.”
If you mean a legacy of helping others find God and the path to heaven, then I’m all for that. But, only through Jesus Christ can anyone be saved. This is a personal matter between God and individual. You can help them find their way to God and encourage them to trust in Him. But, it’s not in anyone’s power to save them, other than Jesus Christ.
What also comes to my mind when I read your post is Jesus’s warning about not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Those who have been praised on Earth for their great works have already received their reward. So, I agree that I do not require praise for any “good” I may do, because as God’s child, it’s expected of me to do so anyway.
Besides, any good that I may do is only a result of the Lord putting me in the position to do so in the first place. All praise belongs to Him.
How do I want to be member? I would like to be remembered simply as someone who loved his Lord Jesus Christ.
But when we say we “love” the Lord, words can be cheap. “If you love me, keep My commandments.” Proof of one’s love is in action, not words. James points this out clearly when he describes the need for works to demonstrate faith. Faith without works, is meaningless. Even the demons believe but their belief is not coupled with obedience.
Well said. When we example our faith, others tend to follow our example. … short of the long.