Life Tribute

1 Corinthians 9:24-26 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty.”

The week Michael writes that when we come to the end of this life’s journey, it is our hope that we have kept the faith and had finished our course having run well.  At some point, God calls His children him home in the eternal kingdom of Heaven.  Even though we mourn with for our dearly departed, we grieve not as others who have no hope, for Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life ... though they were dead, yet shall they live. We understand that our identity is not in whom we are but in whose we are. It is our life’s goal to for a life well lived to the honor and glory of his Lord Jesus Christ.  

Acts 20:24 “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

Jesus said that the works that I do shall you do also and greater works shall you do because I go unto my Father.  Live your life as a follower of Christ.  Jesus' mission statement was summarized in Isaiah 61:1-3, which Jesus quoted in Luke at the beginning of his ministry:  “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” Do we personify this passage in Isaiah. 

We are  called of God to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and use words as necessary. We bind up the spiritual and emotional wounds of the broken hearted, always having a word of encouragement and shared the gospel of salvation and the hope of the resurrection, to set the captives free by demonstrating the liberty we have in Christ.  According to Galatians 5, Liberty is not an occasion to sin, but to serve one another in love. The gospel is both bad news about the consequences of sin in our lives and good news of forgiveness and redemption in Jesus Christ.  By the Great Commission to us from the Lord, our calling is to proclaim the good news of his Lord Jesus Christ.  People ask why God allows loved ones to die instead of healing them. God reminds us that healing will be either in this life or the next.  Romans 8:18 says, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Many godly men and women in our lives teach us how to walk with the Lord and please him. Loving men and women of God also teach us how to die in Christ ... to finish well.  It is appointed for all men and women once to die and then comes the judgment.  For followers of Jesus Christ, the judgment is a righteous judgment, for he who was without sin became the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. Prayer is to align our heart with God's heart and our will with His will.  When our delight is His delight, He will give us the desires of our heart.  Praise is the outpouring of a heart of love and gratitude.  Learn how to tune your heart in prayer and praise to God's "resonant frequency" that will resound into eternity.

Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

One day, every living person shall meet their Maker as we pass from this finite mortal life into an infinite, immortal eternal life. The words "eulogy" and "benediction" have a similar meaning.  One word is from Greek and the other is from Latin but they both literally mean "good word" in English.  A benediction is a good word of blessing to the one who is leaving.  The phrase "good bye" in English is a benediction.  Good-bye is a contraction from the Old English meaning "God be with you 'til we meet again." One day, we all say good-bye.

Make your life a living epistle, God's love letter known and read of all men and women. May your life be a tribute to the Lord. May you ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace! May your name be written in Heaven’s Book of Life.

Your brother in Christ, Michael