Will You Be Remembered For Your Work?
Want to be remembered for your work? Looking to do something that people will always remember?
Most work consists of tasks we do, day in and day out. Many of us don't get the chance to do something "great" on the job. Work gets dull and boring. We get restless.
It's tempting to want to do something "significant." But is that what Our Lord really wants from you? Is He watching and waiting for you to do something great, to "make a difference," something that the whole world will remember someday?
I don't know. Maybe you'll be one of the few of us who do something that someone remembers some day. But, of course, most of us will simply work, day in and day out, and everything we do in this world will be forgotten. At least forgotten by the world.
There are exceptions, of course. You can even find them in the Bible. In fact, maybe that's the best place to go to see what God thinks of as really significant. Let's do that now.
Of course, there's always Moses. Before Jesus, Moses was the great figure who changed history. He led the Israelites out of Egypt. He got the Ten Commandments directly from God. He wrote out the Mosaic Law that ruled the Hebrews until Our Lord came and perfected the Law with His Gospel teachings.
Or you could look at that lady with the ointment. You remember her, don't you? She poured ointment on Our Lord's head right before He was crucified. Our Lord said that what she did would always be remembered.
Now, if you do something that will be remembered after you're dead, don't do it because you think people will praise you or make you a big shot or anything. Remember how the Jews constantly berated Moses as he first tried to free them, then led them through the desert? They complained at every turn.
Then there was the lady with the ointment. The disciples immediately complained to Our Lord. What a waste, pouring this oil on His head. She could have sold the oil and given the money to the poor. Our Lord, of course, straightened them out. (That's when he reminded them that "you always have the poor with you; I'm only here now.")
So if you really are called to something memorable, you've got to remember what happened to Moses and the Lady with the Ointment: they were criticized, rejected, attacked.
Your consolation: If you're criticized, rejected, attacked, maybe -just maybe - you're doing the Lord's work. Maybe, just maybe, you're not just part of the world, the flesh and the devil.
At which point, maybe you'll be remembered - by the only One who really counts. When you're time comes, He will remember that you fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, comforted the sick, visited the imprisoned...well, you know the drill. It's the stuff that really matters, that really is worth remembering.
As for the rest, it's just straws in the wind. Yep, all that stuff that the world honors, praises, compensates, makes a big deal about - typically straws in the wind. When you die, all that stuff dies with you.
So what's worth being remembered for? What the world honors...or what's really worthwhile?
Most work consists of tasks we do, day in and day out. Many of us don't get the chance to do something "great" on the job. Work gets dull and boring. We get restless.
It's tempting to want to do something "significant." But is that what Our Lord really wants from you? Is He watching and waiting for you to do something great, to "make a difference," something that the whole world will remember someday?
I don't know. Maybe you'll be one of the few of us who do something that someone remembers some day. But, of course, most of us will simply work, day in and day out, and everything we do in this world will be forgotten. At least forgotten by the world.
There are exceptions, of course. You can even find them in the Bible. In fact, maybe that's the best place to go to see what God thinks of as really significant. Let's do that now.
Of course, there's always Moses. Before Jesus, Moses was the great figure who changed history. He led the Israelites out of Egypt. He got the Ten Commandments directly from God. He wrote out the Mosaic Law that ruled the Hebrews until Our Lord came and perfected the Law with His Gospel teachings.
Or you could look at that lady with the ointment. You remember her, don't you? She poured ointment on Our Lord's head right before He was crucified. Our Lord said that what she did would always be remembered.
Now, if you do something that will be remembered after you're dead, don't do it because you think people will praise you or make you a big shot or anything. Remember how the Jews constantly berated Moses as he first tried to free them, then led them through the desert? They complained at every turn.
Then there was the lady with the ointment. The disciples immediately complained to Our Lord. What a waste, pouring this oil on His head. She could have sold the oil and given the money to the poor. Our Lord, of course, straightened them out. (That's when he reminded them that "you always have the poor with you; I'm only here now.")
So if you really are called to something memorable, you've got to remember what happened to Moses and the Lady with the Ointment: they were criticized, rejected, attacked.
Your consolation: If you're criticized, rejected, attacked, maybe -just maybe - you're doing the Lord's work. Maybe, just maybe, you're not just part of the world, the flesh and the devil.
At which point, maybe you'll be remembered - by the only One who really counts. When you're time comes, He will remember that you fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, comforted the sick, visited the imprisoned...well, you know the drill. It's the stuff that really matters, that really is worth remembering.
As for the rest, it's just straws in the wind. Yep, all that stuff that the world honors, praises, compensates, makes a big deal about - typically straws in the wind. When you die, all that stuff dies with you.
So what's worth being remembered for? What the world honors...or what's really worthwhile?
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