Filling In the Blanks

For we are God's workmanship,

 created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

 which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: 

to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, 

and to keep oneself unstained from the world

James 1:27

 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions 

with all kinds of prayers and requests. 

With this in mind, be alert 

and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:18

...and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem 

and in all Judea and Samaria, 

and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 1:8b

I attended the funeral of a friend's sister yesterday, and the pastor spoke a wonderful message, but I brought home a few words that made a real impact on my thinking.  He said, "While you are living you are writing your own funeral service."  Some of the words he used concerning this lady were "servant, tenacious, sufferer, prayer warrior, great wife and mother and grandmother,  and hard worker." This lady was a sister of a friend, and I did not know her, but I wish I had.  She sounds like a role model I would like to have had in my life.

I began to contemplate on how I want to be remembered.  I like to paint and sew and garden.  Is that what I want to be remembered for?  I think not, (especially since I'm not highly skilled at any of those!)  I like to travel, eat at good ethnic restaurants, and watch HGTV.  Do I want that to be a part of my eulogy?  Not really. 

So I began filling in the blanks.  I realized that I have no say about what is spoken at my funeral, unless I write out my own eulogy and insist it be read.  (Now that's an idea!)  It won't matter to me when the time comes; I'll be with Jesus.  But hopefully there will be a few there whose lives have been changed because of the life that once embodied my corpse.  So how do I want to be eulogized, and what do I do about it?  We ALL will die someday barring the return of the Lord, young and old alike, and now is the best time to consider these things.

My word of encouragement for myself and for you is taken from a message by Pastor Mark Driscoll:

"Friend please understand that what you live for today determines what death will be for you tomorrow. My hope is that you and I will so live for Christ that we can say confidently, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Today you are already filling in the blanks, by what you live for and what you invest in. “This life will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Write carefully my friend. Write carefully."

And I say for us all, Write Carefully, my friend,

Gloria