good and faithful servant

We Can Be Heroes

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“Everyday a champion dies. We only hear about the popular entertainers.” A friend of mine posted that comment on one of my posts about how many celebrities we’ve lost so far in 2016.

It does seem to me that a disproportionate number of famous people have died this year as compared with previous years. It also seems like just as we’re getting over the shock of losing one, another passes away.

But think of this. Every single day, unsung heroes pass into eternity. They may not have sold millions of records or grossed billions of dollars on box office receipts. They may not be household names or have instantly recognizable faces. Still, their names are in the lamb’s book of life and their faces reflect the glory of God.

They are mother and fathers. They are grandmothers and grandfathers. They are Sunday School teachers. They are Scout troop leaders. They can be next-door neighbors.

They are the ones quietly influencing the world around them and changing the lives of those they encounter. They are the ones who live out the gospel daily with words and deeds.

They are the ones whose life and deeds will most likely go largely unnoticed by the world but who will receive the best accolade of all with the words “Well gone, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.”

They are the ones whom future generations will rise up and call blessed. They are the ones whose legacy of faithfulness will live on long after they and their names have been forgotten.

I’ve known a few of these that have profoundly impacted who I am today. I can recall a grandmother, a piano teacher, a few Sunday School teachers, and so many more who have gone from this world but who still live on in the lives they radically influenced.

I truly believe that ultimately the real heroes aren’t the ones making music and movies or writing books. They are the ones who are faithful with what they’ve been given where they’ve been planted with the people God has entrusted to them.

Those are the real heroes.

 

My bucket list

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First of all, I’d like to know who came up with the expression “kick the bucket” and who first associated it with dying. I’m not losing any sleep over it, but it would be nice to know just in case I’m ever on Jeopardy or a caller on a morning radio show with a chance to win a fabulous prize. I’m just sayin’.

But for real, I do have a bucket list of sorts. It’s not written down, but I have one item on my bucket list. Only one. My one bucket list wish is to hear Jesus say to me at the end of my road, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That’s all. To please Jesus is not only on my bucket list, it is my bucket list. That being said, I pretty much suck at it. Most of the time, I try to please just about anyone and everyone else before I even attempt to please Jesus.

Still, that’s what I want. More than anything else. Sure, I’d like to see Scotland or meet Bono. And for the record, I would try skydiving, but I have a burning desire to NOT DIE! Plus, I’m not really keen on heights, which is pretty much a prerequisite for jumping out of a plane at 1 gazillion feet in the air.

I want to make Jesus proud of  me. I want to be His hands and feet and serve Him every chance I get, whether He be the person at the cash register at Publix or the homeless man on the corner looking for spare change. I want my whole life to be one big THANK YOU note to Him.

I think I’ll get there. In fact, I know I will, because Jesus told me that He would never leave me or forsake me. He said He would finish the good work He started in me. When He sees a heart that yearns to please Him, He honors that.

So I probably have the shortest bucket list on the planet. Just hopefully not the shortest bucket.

Let your light shine

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lighthouses

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16, NASB).”

I find it very interesting that Jesus does not say “Do your good works, so that your light may shine and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” The command is not do good works, but let your light shine. The good works come out of the light shining and are God at work in and through your surrendered heart and willing spirit. As you are being transformed into the image of Christ, that light shines more and more brightly. And one of the main results of our being transformed is that we become more compassionate and are able to love the unlovely and unlovable.

Too many times, all our good activities and events and programs get in the way of our being lights in the world. We are too busy doing things for God that we neglect to be God’s people that show the world what He is like. If all they see is me running around, fatigued and miserable from all my activities for God, they will have missed God. Don’t get me wrong. These activities are good, but the focus is being the Light of Christ wherever we are and whatever we are doing.
The reward is the glory of God given to God. It is not awards or commendations or praise for me. If I shine, the world sees Jesus, not me. People sees God as He truly is and are drawn to that. Lord, help me to not be another busybody in your Kingdom, but a Light that shines in the dark that the world and the devil will never be able to put out.

My prayer is that we get to the end of our lives and hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You took your light into the dark places few others were willing to go and loved those few others were willing to love and in reaching to the least of these, your light shone brightest.

As always, I believe. Help my unbelief.