Only What You Do For Christ Will Last!

Monday September 20, 2010

Today's Passage:  Revelations 20:11-15
Memory Verse: Revelations 20:12

I have often heard the expression only what you do for Christ will last.  I see evidence of this from afar in the lives of people in history such as Martin Luther king and thousands of others.  But I don't think I've felt the impact of how one life that's been lived for the Lord can change things in eternity the way I did this past week while I participated in the funeral ceremonies of my mother. 

When I got to the house my parents built on a meager salary in the 1980's there were hundreds of people coming to pay their respects.  These were people who have been associated with my parents in one way or another.  Some have grown up with them, while others have received services from them at their clinic.  Still others knew them when they worked at the hospital. But I really began to see the impact when people came to testify of how their lives have been touched by one of my sisters. 

In my years of ministry, I've been to quite a few funerals.  But I was so overwhelmed at the tremendous display of affection for my mother.  At least a thousand people showed up during the all-night wake we held at the house.  Then, at the second wake the following night (yes there was more than one), more people came to honor her.  When we got to the funeral on the third day, we knew it would take a while for government officials, social organizations she was apart of, and many relatives to pay tribute to her.  But by the time we got to the end of it all, with lots of singing in between because she loved so much to hear people sing praises to God, we had been there for 7 hours straight.  Finally, when we took Mommy to the Lutheran hospital where she would be buried next to my father, there were literally hundreds of people lining the road to honor her.  For another 4 hours it was a joy just to sit and hear people give testimony to the greatness of God through my mother's life. 

What is the point of all this?  Her life was one recorded in eternity as a selfless one.  There were not to many times when she did something for herself.  She spent her life planting seeds of integrity where she worked, seeds of unity and devotion to God where she lived, and seeds of inspiration to walk more closely with God where she worshipped.  May we all be so driven to let God work through us to such an extent, so that He can get the glory when we take our last breath.  For truly, only what we do for Christ will last. 

Prayer:  Father, thank You for sending such a personal example of sacrificial living to me.  I am grateful that You have shown me it can be done by ordinary people like me.  I vow once again to be totally devoted to You for the rest of my life, pointing others to You with all my might.  In Jesus' name Amen.