Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58
This thought hit me the other day: what good is a life lived on earth if it hasn’t been lived for Jesus Christ? Think about all the men that have lived on earth that the world considers to be great. I’m not even talking about the movie star types. I’m talking about good men like George Washington, the hero of the American War for Independence; our Founding Fathers, who framed the great Constitution of the United States; Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, who proved the germ concept of disease and began the process of making the world a healthier place to live; and Charles Lindbergh, who pushed the limits of flight that essentially launched us into a new world of possibility in travel. The list could go on and on with men who have dramatically influenced thought, culture, society, and life.
None of the men I mentioned were pastors, but some were Christians and godly men. After living their lives in the way that they did, they would, no doubt, have stood before God to hear Him say that they had accomplished His will for their lives on the earth. But, as a Christian (or even as a non-Christian) could you imagine passing away and having someone hypothetically say, “Boy, you sure were a great man when you were on the earth,” yet you never had the right relationship with God? What good would it really do, and how empty would it really sound to have people talk about how great you were in men’s eyes, but in God’s eyes to have accomplished nothing? God does not call every man to be a pastor. He most definitely calls some to be doctors, police officers, electricians, plumbers, and many other professions. Yet, there can be no doubt that every man should have the right relationship with God if He would be considered successful, for there is no success so satisfying as living a life that is pleasing to God. There will only be a small handful of men that the world will ever recognize as great.
Most of us will never be the one that discovers the next breakthrough in medicine or technology. Thankfully, however, that is not what determines the success or failure of an individual. In chapter 3, the author of Hebrews refers to “holy brethren” as “partakers of the Heavenly calling.” As pilgrims passing through a temporary world, our goal should not be to gather the accolades that can be heaped upon us by a temporary crowd. Our goal should be to one day reach Heaven’s shore and hear, “By Heaven’s standard, you truly are a great man.”
Read also: 1 Corinthians 15:45-58
Quote of the day: "People who shine from within don’t need the spotlight.”