As I sit up late and write tonight, I have a flood of mixed emotions. On the one hand, there is sadness and the wiping of some tears as I think about a great man of God, my childhood pastor, who passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was someone that I deeply respected that just always had a special way of encouraging all those around him. His smile and positive energy truly were contagious :)
On the other hand, there are feelings of great joy—joy because he is now in the presence of our awesome Savior where there is no more sorrow or pain. Revelation 21:4 gives us that amazing promise, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” I know that “Preacher” would not want us to continue in sadness over his passing, but would want us to use the life God has given us to carry on the example that he left behind.
On the other hand, there are feelings of great joy—joy because he is now in the presence of our awesome Savior where there is no more sorrow or pain. Revelation 21:4 gives us that amazing promise, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” I know that “Preacher” would not want us to continue in sadness over his passing, but would want us to use the life God has given us to carry on the example that he left behind.
Perhaps you could say his example taught me the true purpose of life. I feel an overwhelming amount of thankfulness for the shining example he was to me of living a life of faith and a life overflowing with a genuine love for others. Many of us have probably found ourselves questioning at one point or another, why ARE we really here? We could sit here for hours contemplating that question because we assume it surely must be some complicated puzzle that we have to decipher. And we could sit here for days wondering, what IS it that makes one happy in this life? We assume there has to be some magic formula waiting to be discovered that will bring us contentment in what seems to be a crazy life. But the answer is so much simpler. We are here to serve Christ through serving others. That is what brings true joy. “Preacher” taught me that.
I love the acronym that I’ve heard for JOY. It stands for Jesus, Others, and Yourself. If we want to experience true joy in our life here on earth, that is the order that we should follow. Our own desires and comforts should be placed on a priority list only AFTER Jesus and others are at the top. Sometimes that is easier said than done. I know because I’ve failed miserably at it many times. But when with God’s mercy and strength I finally do succeed, I find that there really is no greater joy. We could spend our whole lives trying to accumulate possessions, working to advance our position and status, and seeking to build a life full of all the pleasures and dreams our heart could desire. But will any of that even matter at the end of our life? As “Preacher” would always say, “Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
As I sit here tonight and remember my pastor, a special song comes to mind that I would like to share with you:
Find Us Faithful
(By Steve Green)
We're pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace
Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who've gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives
CHORUS:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find
REPEAT CHORUS
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Are we investing in the lives of others and leaving footprints behind for them to follow? I'm so thankful for those like my Preacher who chose to leave footprints for me to follow—footprints reflecting a life of “faith with nothing wavering” and a life of selfless, unceasing giving to others. Footprints that only point to Christ. There’s no reason the path of those footprints has to end now. A path of footprints pointing to Christ should never end. When God decides the work of one man on this earth is finished, He calls another to step in his place and continue that trail for all to follow. Will we step up and continue so the footprints that we leave lead others to believe?
I love the acronym that I’ve heard for JOY. It stands for Jesus, Others, and Yourself. If we want to experience true joy in our life here on earth, that is the order that we should follow. Our own desires and comforts should be placed on a priority list only AFTER Jesus and others are at the top. Sometimes that is easier said than done. I know because I’ve failed miserably at it many times. But when with God’s mercy and strength I finally do succeed, I find that there really is no greater joy. We could spend our whole lives trying to accumulate possessions, working to advance our position and status, and seeking to build a life full of all the pleasures and dreams our heart could desire. But will any of that even matter at the end of our life? As “Preacher” would always say, “Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
As I sit here tonight and remember my pastor, a special song comes to mind that I would like to share with you:
Find Us Faithful
(By Steve Green)
We're pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace
Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who've gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives
CHORUS:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find
REPEAT CHORUS
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Are we investing in the lives of others and leaving footprints behind for them to follow? I'm so thankful for those like my Preacher who chose to leave footprints for me to follow—footprints reflecting a life of “faith with nothing wavering” and a life of selfless, unceasing giving to others. Footprints that only point to Christ. There’s no reason the path of those footprints has to end now. A path of footprints pointing to Christ should never end. When God decides the work of one man on this earth is finished, He calls another to step in his place and continue that trail for all to follow. Will we step up and continue so the footprints that we leave lead others to believe?