AFTER YOU!
This past Sunday one of our congregations had its annual missionary lovefeast. After the sermon we sang “Find Us Faithful”. I was particularly struck by these lines in the second verse
AFTER all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behindÂ….
The verse ends with a prayer that whatever is discovered or uncovered will lead them to experience faith in Christ for themselves. Have YOU given much thought to what will be revealed or said about YOU not while youÂ’re still around but AFTER? And so for our FF for today I invite us to ponder the two words AFTER YOU!
AFTER all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behindÂ….
The verse ends with a prayer that whatever is discovered or uncovered will lead them to experience faith in Christ for themselves. Have YOU given much thought to what will be revealed or said about YOU not while youÂ’re still around but AFTER? And so for our FF for today I invite us to ponder the two words AFTER YOU!
Maybe the starting point is not to dwell too much on what will be said AFTER YOU about YOU. The danger in here is that YOU risk living your life just to satisfy others and trying real hard to meet some peopleÂ’s unrealistic expectations. But instead today the thought that I invite us to ponder is that one day there will be an AFTER. And when we think about it the journey of life is such that with each step there will always be an AFTER YOU. When you retire or resign from your job thatÂ’s an AFTER YOU moment. When you move away to live in another neighborhood, there will be another AFTER YOU. As a pastor, when youÂ’re called to serve another congregation elsewhere, that too will present another AFTER YOU moment in time. When we live thinking more about the AFTER YOU time then somehow we learn not to hold on too tightly to things or people who come across our path. The same way there was a time before YOU it is only a matter of time before there is another time AFTER YOU.
If perchance YOU are not sure what may be said AFTER YOU then now is the time to fix that. Now is the time to write the script for the AFTER. Truth is YOU really donÂ’t have to imagine or wonder what will be remembered or said AFTER YOU. All that has to be done is simply look at what YOU do now. In the end it is how we live now that will eventually be spoken of AFTER. So then I guess the bigger issue is not so much the AFTER since AFTER YOU reflects the now YOU. But even as we consider what may be said AFTER YOU, we cannot forget that some things that will be said AFTER YOU, YOU have absolutely no control over. IsnÂ’t it the case that most often what is said AFTER YOU publicly focuses on what others admired and loved about YOU? But privately for fewer ears, others may be bold enough to what they see as the qualities that were less than admirable. So since we still have now control the things that we can and leave to God those that we cannot.
But hereÂ’s our challenge: whether public or private just be sure that what is said AFTER YOU reflects the Christ in YOU. The good news is that YOU still have the opportunity today to decide what will be said and remembered AFTER YOU. DonÂ’t fool yourself whatever you leave AFTER YOU is more than YOU think. So letÂ’s live in such a manner that AFTER YOU the world will remember the Christ who lived in and through YOU.
Mikie Roberts (Rev)
HereÂ’s the link for the blog. Join in the discussions.
http://moravians.net/serendipity/index.php?/categories/1-Friday-Focus
If perchance YOU are not sure what may be said AFTER YOU then now is the time to fix that. Now is the time to write the script for the AFTER. Truth is YOU really donÂ’t have to imagine or wonder what will be remembered or said AFTER YOU. All that has to be done is simply look at what YOU do now. In the end it is how we live now that will eventually be spoken of AFTER. So then I guess the bigger issue is not so much the AFTER since AFTER YOU reflects the now YOU. But even as we consider what may be said AFTER YOU, we cannot forget that some things that will be said AFTER YOU, YOU have absolutely no control over. IsnÂ’t it the case that most often what is said AFTER YOU publicly focuses on what others admired and loved about YOU? But privately for fewer ears, others may be bold enough to what they see as the qualities that were less than admirable. So since we still have now control the things that we can and leave to God those that we cannot.
But hereÂ’s our challenge: whether public or private just be sure that what is said AFTER YOU reflects the Christ in YOU. The good news is that YOU still have the opportunity today to decide what will be said and remembered AFTER YOU. DonÂ’t fool yourself whatever you leave AFTER YOU is more than YOU think. So letÂ’s live in such a manner that AFTER YOU the world will remember the Christ who lived in and through YOU.
Mikie Roberts (Rev)
HereÂ’s the link for the blog. Join in the discussions.
http://moravians.net/serendipity/index.php?/categories/1-Friday-Focus
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