On Memorial Day, we will remember, honor, and mourn those who lost their lives in the line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces. Today, we do well to ask ourselves, “What honorable deeds will I be remembered for when I am gone?”
Will it be the money I made? The children I influenced? The position or possessions I had? Will it be music, art, or words of wisdom? Will it be my service to my country? Ah, my friend, the Bible says that our life is “a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14) But yet—we have the opportunity to make an ETERNAL difference! The Bible encourages us:
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are ETERNAL.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
What are these “eternal” things? Well, God is eternal. Also, the souls of people—who are created in God’s image—are eternal. When we are born again, the torch of God’s divine purpose is passed to us. We have the opportunity to live for His glory. We have the opportunity to bring souls into the saving knowledge of Jesus and change the course of their eternal destiny.
It is only in glorifying God and leading souls to salvation that we will be remembered for many millennia to come.
When folks meet us, who do they meet? Do they meet more of Kimberly, or do they meet a Jesus they would want to know? Are they more focused on me or HIM? Ah, the most precious and memorable influence we have on folks is bringing them to Jesus.
In the end, Jesus and the salvation He offers are all that matters about us.
When people meet me, I want them to meet the glory of God. I want them to see the fruit of His Spirit and experience the embodiment of His power and wisdom. Don’t you? If we glory merely in our job or our children—these things eventually fade. But if our crowning achievement is doing all we do for the glory of God, then even the most mundane tasks take on precious and eternal significance. God gives us the greatest narrative. The Bible says:
Thus saith the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.” -Jeremiah 9:23-24
To “glory” in “understanding” and “knowing” God gives even the smallest details of our life a narrative with an eternally memorable dimension. Do we remember the mundane details of any of the most famous people of our nation—Kennedy, Elvis, Washington, etc.? Who today knows anything of the thousands of hours of toil and sweat that went into building the wealth and power of any of these people? God does.
But what will survive the refining fire is what each one did to glorify God—not self.
Jesus was a carpenter; Paul was a prisoner; Jeremiah was a fugitive prophet; and David was a shepherd king. Why are THEIR lives memorialized so well that THOUSANDS of years later, MILLIONS of people are still reading about them and what they did? Their heart, though far from perfect, purposed to live for the glory of God. What an opportunity! Today, everything you do can be for God’s glory. Isn’t that amazing???
So whatever position you find yourself in…active duty military, parent, teacher, caregiver, if you are a child of God, you have the extraordinary opportunity to make an eternal impression that will be something to remember. Each conversation and action in the course of living a “regular life” is a very natural platform to share the great works God has done through you.
