How do you want to be remembered??
I have thought about that question a lot recently, wondering how I would be remembered, and how we remember others. In Sunday School, we just finished studying 2 Timothy, which is the last letter that Paul wrote before he was executed. Paul wanted to be remembered not by his death, not by his persecution and killing of Christians, but by the fact that he followed Christ and led others to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He wanted to be remembered as an apostle of Christ, not a persecutor of Christ. We do remember Paul for all the good he did spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What if we remembered Paul for the bad he did? We would remember him as a murderer and persecutor of Christians. But...we have chosen to remember Paul
for the good he did and why should we remember others any less?
If we are honest with ourselves, if we were to be remembered by our deepest and worst moments of our lives, we would all be remembered very badly, wouldn’t we? In the same way, we must not judge someone by how they died but rather how they lived. Maybe the question is: How will Christ remember us?? We can rest in the assurance of 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Romans 8 states:
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.”
That is how I want to be remembered...as a child of God, co-heir with Christ. I don’t want to be remembered by my faults but by the things that are good and true. I hope to be remembered as Christ will remember me.
That is my challenge: to take the time to see and remember the good in people, see what is good and true as Christ does for those who are in Christ.
And remember, that NOTHING can separate us from the Love of Christ, not in life and not in death. Let us cling to that and live like we believe this through our relationships with one another today.
I have thought about that question a lot recently, wondering how I would be remembered, and how we remember others. In Sunday School, we just finished studying 2 Timothy, which is the last letter that Paul wrote before he was executed. Paul wanted to be remembered not by his death, not by his persecution and killing of Christians, but by the fact that he followed Christ and led others to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He wanted to be remembered as an apostle of Christ, not a persecutor of Christ. We do remember Paul for all the good he did spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What if we remembered Paul for the bad he did? We would remember him as a murderer and persecutor of Christians. But...we have chosen to remember Paul
for the good he did and why should we remember others any less?
If we are honest with ourselves, if we were to be remembered by our deepest and worst moments of our lives, we would all be remembered very badly, wouldn’t we? In the same way, we must not judge someone by how they died but rather how they lived. Maybe the question is: How will Christ remember us?? We can rest in the assurance of 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Romans 8 states:
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.”
That is how I want to be remembered...as a child of God, co-heir with Christ. I don’t want to be remembered by my faults but by the things that are good and true. I hope to be remembered as Christ will remember me.
That is my challenge: to take the time to see and remember the good in people, see what is good and true as Christ does for those who are in Christ.
And remember, that NOTHING can separate us from the Love of Christ, not in life and not in death. Let us cling to that and live like we believe this through our relationships with one another today.
