Old cemeteries give the lie to our deepest desires. The names become worn, and when enough generations have come and gone, the story behind the monuments is forgotten, never to be brought to mind again.
We don’t want to be forgotten. It’s why we build homes, corporations, and far-reaching empires. It’s why the pharaohs of old constructed the pyramids. It’s why we see monuments standing in the central squares of cities across the world. If no one remembers us, then what was the point in our lives?
Yet, we can find comfort when we consider the end we must face. All that we have done is never forgotten. The Lord knows our works, and his memory is eternal. If we do our best for him, it will be remembered always, written on the walls of time itself.
Let’s give our attention to Luke 14:28:
“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”
God wants us to “chill” a bit. We need to remember what’s important. It’s not being remembered in a hundred years. It’s making the world around us better that counts in his eyes.
We can look to Jeremiah 29:11 for confirmation of God’s good will for our lives:
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
The future will be what it will be. It’s the present that should concern us. If we disregard today and only look to tomorrow, we have missed out on what is important in our daily walk with God. People live in the now, and only by focusing on the now can we find fulfillment in all that we do.
Job 42:10 shows the importance of looking out for our fellow man:
“And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
The story of Job, with everything he lost, and all that was restored to him, resonates with mankind to this day. This verse tells us Job’s turning point, for when he focused his prayers on his fellow man, that’s when God chose to bless Job once again.
A hundred years after we are gone from this earthly life, God may be the only one who still knows the important things we did, and that’s okay. He writes our deeds on the scroll of eternity, and we are never forgotten there.
When we make a difference today, the effects will ripple down through the ages.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.C.24.15.vp.esv
Originally Published: 5-25-15 in Relationships