I’m going to ask you to think about doing something. Something different, something special.
I want you to make a list, an actual physical list not just one in your head, of 10 things you want your children, your grandchildren, your closest friends and people in general to remember about you when you’re gone.
Several years ago, I brought up the same thought in one of my writings. Since then, my Mom has passed and a number of dear friends. In fact, just a couple weeks ago I was asked to speak at one friend’s memorial – the thing I could recall most vividly was her kindness and her love for the Lord.
I was reading in Joshua again this morning and was reminded what the 2 1/2 tribes of Israel that stayed on the East side of the Jordan wanted people to remember about them.
As they were returning to the land they had been promised, they stopped and built an altar, an altar that their fellow tribesmen thought was sacrilege. However, look at the reply of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh.
“…No, we built the altar to remind us and you and the generations to come that we will worship the Lord. And so we will keep bringing our sacrifices to the Lord’s altar, there in front of his sacred tent. Now your descendants will never be able to say to our descendants, ‘You can’t worship the Lord.’ But if they do say this, our descendants can answer back, ‘Look at this altar our ancestors built! It’s like the Lord’s altar, but it isn’t for offering sacrifices. It’s here to remind us and you that we belong to the Lord, just as much as you do’…The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar ‘A Reminder to Us All That the Lord Is Our God.’” Joshua 22:29-30 & 34 CEV
A reminder to us all that the Lord is our God! I want my life to have reminders that the Lord is my God.
I think people will probably remember that I was a good cook and I love to entertain. It makes me happy to have people in my home and I enjoy honoring my friends and neighbors. Maybe, people will remember this blog that came every morning, but more than anything I want people to remember my love for the Lord and His word.
Let me ask again, what things do you want to be remembered for? What matters most?