A Tale of Two Obituaries
I've been to a few funerals in the past few months. They reminded me that some time ago I had told my husband I was going to write my own obituary. To which he replied, "that's fine. There will be the one you write, and there will be the one I write." Not sure what to think about that. But - there really are two obituaries that our lives write.
Everyday we live, we are writing a book. Things we say, things we do, how we make others feel. How we live our lives in the public arena. People see how we respond in various situations and circumstances. We'll call it "words and ways." They hear our words or see what we do. And they form somewhat of an opinion about our lives and how we've lived them. When we pass, someone that loves us will write a few words about us for the paper or the funeral program. Just the good stuff goes here, not our flops or failures. One might say, "She was a cheerful giver."
But there's another book that's being written. By God Himself. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." Now for the Believer, these are not our sins. Thank God they were put away at the Cross! But how we live and walk and talk and work and serve in this life, is all recorded in heaven. God is not only well acquainted with our "words and ways," but knows our hearts and our thoughts. Our motives. The ones writing your obituary for the paper won't know these intimate details. So whereas others might see you as a cheerful giver (face - smiling) God knows you were complaining in your heart the whole time (face - frowning).
My favorite pbs Masterpiece series is Endeavor. It's a British detective drama set in Oxford in the 60s. Their terminology is so different from ours, closed captioning doesn't even help! But one phrase they use often is "mind how you go." In our words: Take care. Be careful. Watch your step. So as we enter into this busy holiday season and the coming new year, let's be careful to mind how we go. Let's remember we live Coram Deo. Hebrews 4:13 explains this well - "And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." Let's remember to let our words and ways and our hearts and thoughts - how we live, walk, talk, work and serve - bring glory to Him.
Everyday we live, we are writing a book. Things we say, things we do, how we make others feel. How we live our lives in the public arena. People see how we respond in various situations and circumstances. We'll call it "words and ways." They hear our words or see what we do. And they form somewhat of an opinion about our lives and how we've lived them. When we pass, someone that loves us will write a few words about us for the paper or the funeral program. Just the good stuff goes here, not our flops or failures. One might say, "She was a cheerful giver."
But there's another book that's being written. By God Himself. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." Now for the Believer, these are not our sins. Thank God they were put away at the Cross! But how we live and walk and talk and work and serve in this life, is all recorded in heaven. God is not only well acquainted with our "words and ways," but knows our hearts and our thoughts. Our motives. The ones writing your obituary for the paper won't know these intimate details. So whereas others might see you as a cheerful giver (face - smiling) God knows you were complaining in your heart the whole time (face - frowning).
My favorite pbs Masterpiece series is Endeavor. It's a British detective drama set in Oxford in the 60s. Their terminology is so different from ours, closed captioning doesn't even help! But one phrase they use often is "mind how you go." In our words: Take care. Be careful. Watch your step. So as we enter into this busy holiday season and the coming new year, let's be careful to mind how we go. Let's remember we live Coram Deo. Hebrews 4:13 explains this well - "And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." Let's remember to let our words and ways and our hearts and thoughts - how we live, walk, talk, work and serve - bring glory to Him.
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