Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Planning”
Our Bible verse for today: “Her sons rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her: ‘Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!’ Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.” Proverbs 31:28-29 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Plan your legacy”
So, how will people remember you? When you’re dead and gone and your life is just a memory to those you have left behind, how will they remember you?
Here’s a little test you can conduct right now to help illustrate my point. How do you remember others? Quick now, what’s the first thought that comes into your mind when you remember them? Depending on the individual in question you might remember a smiling and happy person, or someone of deep faith, or perhaps he or she was a driven person who was always busy with some work-related issue, or maybe the person was angry and mean and that’s the memory about them that lingers.
Although every life is multi-faceted and complex, and although every person’s life is a mix of good and bad, positive and negative, there is a character trait that dominates and that is what people will remember first about you.
So, how will they remember you? You are actually determining that right now by the way you live. The words you say, the actions you take, the priorities you have established, a thousand little choices every day, they all add up to how people will remember your life.
The “Proverbs 31” woman is remembered as a strong woman of faith who put others first and who lived a life that was focused on others. She had a positive impact on those around her. I’ve been blessed to know women and men like that and the memory of them always makes me smile.
Over the years I’ve preached a lot of funerals. At every funeral I always try to focus on the positive aspects of the person’s life and to help everyone remember the good things about them. Sometimes that’s easy, but other times not so much. I once saw a funny line on a church sign that read, “Live in such a way that the preacher won’t have to lie at your funeral.”
Yes please. Funerals are hard enough. Don’t make me have to lie about you. Live in such a way now that it will be easy to say nice things about you then. Your legacy is your responsibility and you are establishing it everyday by the things you say and do. Give careful thought to how you want people to remember you and then live that way now.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 