“And I heard a Voice from Heaven saying unto me, ‘Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them’.”
Revelations 14:13
Our lives are investments in eternity; the question is “Where are we investing them?”
Grave markers.
Every cemetery has them. Some are tall and ornate; others are small and inconspicuous. But, all of them have some things in common: A name. . .birth and death dates. . .and sometimes an epitaph. You’ve seen them:
“Gone, but not forgotten.”
“Beloved Wife, Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother.”
“Forever in our hearts.”
Or, as one person wrote, “As you are, I once was; as I am, so you, too, one day shall be.”
Talk about getting your attention!
Yet, in reality, today’s Manna—though intended to be comfort to struggling saints as they think of eternity—is also a sobering reminder of investing our lives in the right things so “we may rest from our labors” and have the right type of “works that do follow us.”
Or, another way to look at it is this:
How can we live our lives in such a way that we’ll feel/be “blessed” when we die and know that others will, too, by the investments we made in their lives?
We know the answer, don’t we?
Quite simply: By investing our lives in God’s Kingdom life/work. . .which comes by “abiding in Christ and Him in us” (Jn. 15:1-7). . .and allowing Him to use us as He sees fit. It’s putting first what He would (Mt. 6:33) and then passionately pursuing Him/His priorities with all that’s within us (Phil. 3:3-14).
That way we won’t have to worry what others will put on our tombstone when we die. Assuredly, none of us want words like “Selfish”. . .or “Swindler”. . .or “Lazy, No-good Bum” etched in marble on our grave.
No, much better are words like “Loving father/husband”. . .or “Devoted follower of Christ”. . .or “Caring, Compassionate Conduit of Christ’s Love,” etc.
This isn’t a call for becoming overly-concerned about what others think of us or what they’ll say about us after we’re gone; however, it is a call to evaluate who we are, why we’re here and what difference our lives are making while we’re here.
May we spend a few minutes today in quiet reflection, asking the Holy Spirit to show us if we’re walking in tune with Him or way out in left field somewhere. Then, may we allow Him the freedom to tweak us where we need tweaking so we can be a joy to Him and not a headache or heartache. Life’s too short to be wasted; invest it in eternity. Then leave the rest to Him.
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated November 15, 2009
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