You’re gonna die. They’ll place you in a coffin and put you in the ground. Or burn you and put your ashes in an urn. But you’re gonna die.
And no one will remember you. Seriously- give it 2 generations or so and they won’t know you. Even if they were to name a street or a bridge or a company after you, they’ll use the name. But they won’t know or honor you.
And the only thing that will live on is what you do for the Kingdom. What you build into the lives of others to Christ’s glory. Everything else fades. Your money will go to someone else or go away. Your deeds will be forgotten. But what you do in peoples’ lives…that has the potential to continue.
The guy who was instrumental in bringing me to Jesus had problems. He struggled with alcoholism. Depression. Had a jacked-up family situation. Committed suicide a couple of years ago.
But he gave me the gospel. Took me to the church where I eventually came to know Jesus. And I went from addict to free man. From user of women to loyal husband and father. From thief to honest man. From a man living only for himself and what he can get to a man living for Jesus and his glory- and therefore pouring into others (at least on a good day, by God’s grace).
And because of that man, Bruce, who helped me find Jesus, there have been a number of people who have also come to faith through me. People who have entered the ministry. People who have had similar experiences with the King and been forever changed. To Christ’s glory. By God’s grace alone.
And those people are Bruce’s spiritual grandchildren. What Bruce did for the kingdom- as flawed and jacked-up as Bruce was…as we all are- lives on. Bruce was an alcoholic who kept trying to get sober. His life was tragic. Yet, he took the time to pay for a subscription to a Christian magazine to be sent to me. He gave me comic books that shared the gospel (this was high school a long time ago), even though it could have opened him up to ridicule. He took me once to his church. Even while struggling with trying to numb the pain of some terrible events from his childhood.
Whose fame do I live for? Mine will fade, Christ’s never will. Whose opinion matters most? Living for the approval of people is foolishness and a deep well that never ends. Living for Jesus gives courage to share a life-changing message that transforms lives. Even if some may laugh. Others will be changed.
I won’t live on. Not on this earth. What I do for Jesus will. Which kingdom has my allegiance? One is a grasping at the wind. The other will never end.