There was a little
city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and
besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: 15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he
by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than
strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not
heard. –Ecclesiastes 9:14-16
(KJV)
Several
years ago I was in a meeting with a group of pastors when a pastor friend of
mine noticed all the notes, pieces of paper, and other written odds and ends
hanging out of my Bible. “That’s quite a
lot of stuff you have in your Bible there,” he said. “Yes,” I replied, “I tend to keep a few notes
tucked away in here.” “I’d say you do,”
he chuckled. “Your Bible looks like a filing cabinet.” This may sound strange, but from time to time
I will pull out some of those notes and read them. Some are dated, so I know exactly when I wrote
them. The notes consist of thoughts
which have come to me that I might use in a sermon, Scripture references, and sermon
outlines from sermons I have heard.
The
other morning I came across an order of service from a funeral I preached two
years ago for a very dear man in our congregation who had passed away. As I looked at the small piece of paper I was
filled with fond memories of this man. My
thoughts were also mixed with sadness over missing a brother in Christ. This brought me to reflections on my own
mortality. I would say the odds of all
these small scraps of paper surviving long after I am gone are slim at
best. Perhaps some other writings I have
done might outlast me, including my books and hopefully more I will write. However, those little slips of paper probably
won’t last.
As
followers of Christ, we are called to make a positive impact on the world. This is how we will ultimately be
remembered. No matter who you are or
your station in life, you have unique gifts and talents through which you can positively
influence others. Would you like to
impact your world and be remembered in good ways? If so, then set about living a godly and
honorable life. View each day as a gift
from God and an opportunity to make a positive difference. Solomon wondered if he would be remembered in
good ways when he left this world. He pointed
out how often times someone does something good, and yet people do not recall
what was done.
Let
us be faithful at all times and then trust God with the results. Live lives devoted to Christ knowing the Lord
sees our good deeds and this is enough. Serving
God and doing good for our fellow man carries great blessings. Doing good for the sake of simply doing what
is noble and honorable is always right. God
knows and He will bless us for it.
God
bless you today.
