“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” Phil. 2:5-7……….
Call it morbid. Call it what you will. But this morning while taking two of my sweet dogs for a walk on the streets of New York City, I thought about my obituary. And what came to me was the farthest thing in the universe from the word morbid. Or the thought of death and dying. Or of newspapers and obituaries. For all I could think of when I considered how I’d write my own obituary if I could it was this.
Servant of Christ.
I may have read that at some point along the way. That someone else had the same idea. Or that someone else had an obituary like that. Or a cemetery stone. Or some such thing. Or maybe it’s because the more I follow the Jesus, the more I crave to follow Jesus. And the more I follow Him, the more I love Him, the more I want to serve the Lord, the more I yearn to be His servant, the more I hunger and thirst zealously for His fellowship. The closer I want to be to God. The more like Jesus I want to be. And knowing Jesus the way I know Him now, studying God’s Word daily and learning to walk with the Lord, to live chasing after God’s presence, desiring it, desiring Him, more than anything in the universe, more than anyone, too, I can only imagine how He would have written His own obituary in modern day times. In modern day media.
Servant.
Of God.
Slave. Of God.
Jesus came to die for us. To be raised from the dead. To love. To serve.
I have an Ivy League education. I once worked on a Time Magazine special advertising sections contract in London. I worked for a national daily newspaper in the Wall Street area. I went to the best of schools. I have written six books. And numerous tracts and devotionals. I have done this. And that. And traveled. Some think I’m smart. Some would say I’m accomplished. None of it matters in the grand scheme of things.
What matters?
Servant of Christ. I live and breathe for Him. I’ve given up any semblance of a normal American life with the typical American dream for Him. I learn to die to self daily to be more and more alive for Him. For Him to live in me. For Him to live through me. For me to bring glory, and honor, and praise, and thanksgiving, through Christ, to God almighty.
Servant of Christ.
Ever noticed how Moses, and how the apostles, and how even Jesus, are described in the Bible? By all their degrees? By their awesome education? By their accomplishments and how they achieved them all in their own strength and wisdom? By how awesome their resumes were? By how great they were, apart from God?
Servants. Servants. Servants. Called by God. To love. To serve. Humbly. With thanksgiving.
Obituaries tend to include a listing of the loved ones people leave behind when they die.
Servant of Christ.
What would I desire? The loved ones I left behind were people all around the world, the rich, the poor, the hurting, the successful, the hopeless, the abandoned, neglected, rejected, disabled, sick, dying, suicidal, the homeless, the prisoners, family, friends, strangers, foreigners, locals, the mean and cruel, the abused, the abusers, young, old, searching, depressed, the raped, the rapists, people all over, people everywhere, people I met for a moment, for minutes, for a lifetime, people I never met but talked to on the phone or emailed, people who read my writing. All with one thing in common.
Loved by God. Loved by me. Because of God, by His grace, through me, that I left behind a legacy of a world of countless people who heard about the Lord Jesus Christ, who learned how to have a forever relationship with God through Christ, who were loved and helped and encouraged in following Him forever.
By God’s grace, I am healthy. I am safe. I am thriving. I am in the prime of my life loving – and serving – Christ. I have no plan of leaving this earth anytime soon because I am here to do what God called me here to do.
But I can’t help but think – and to encourage you to think – about what kind of legacy we will one day leave behind.
May it be this one.
Servant of Christ.
Oh, that through my life, oh yes, by His grace, in His strength, in His love, with His mercy, by His Spirit, with His authority, at His leading, rejoicing, thankful, ever growing, ever learning, ever repenting as needed, forgiven, by God, through Jesus, I would live, and do live, as Christ’s servant, to do this.
To bring God glory!
As this.
Servant of Christ.
I hope this message will compel you to consider your own heart and life. And just where you stand. Regarding Jesus. In the Lord’s eyes. And where you might need to make some changes. Now. While there’s yet time.
Amen.