Today has left me with quite a bit to think about. In the church service this morning, the choir sang a song called "Find Us Faithful," which can be found here. It talks about wanting those that come behind us to find us faithful and be inspired to obey because of what we have done. This really struck me, especially since I was attending the church where I served as the Student Minister for two years. It left me asking this question: Is what I'm doing now going to leave a legacy that will inspire others to follow Christ and do the right thing?
Follow that up with a sermon on the following passage:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:1-4)
In his sermon, Pastor Jay talked about the great cloud of witnesses that are watching us and encouraging us along the way including the great "Hall of Faith" that is listed in chapter 11 of Hebrews. It was a reminder to stay focused on Jesus and lay down all of the things that are weighing us down. Sin is defined as missing the mark and we WILL miss the mark, but we must always strive to hit the mark, which is living a life that is pleasing to God.
I left church this morning thinking about a conversation I had with my youth leader Beth and her husband Jeff several years ago. At the time, I was making some decisions that weren't the best decisions I've ever made and they pulled me aside and reminded me that there were younger students that looked up to me and I needed to set a good example for them. This is a lesson that I have needed to be reminded of several times since then and I have come to realize that no matter how old we are, someone is watching us, waiting to see what we are going to do. Some times those people are younger than us. Other times they may be the same age as us or older than us, but they are watching. The question is not whether or not we are going to make an impact. The question is will that impact be positive or negative.
I shared that very same lesson with the students tonight after we watched this video. It was the talk of this video this morning that got me to come back and be with the students for the evening service tonight. God knew I needed to be there, because I needed to be reminded of that very lesson that Beth and Jeff tried to teach me almost ten years ago. The questions I am pondering and the ones I leave you with are: What kind of impact/legacy are you going to leave behind? Are you positively or negatively influencing those around you? What kind of difference are you making?
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