Several years ago I went for a walk one afternoon and as I was observing the birds in the trees I noticed something on one tree that looked a little bit different. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was from a distance so I walked up to it, and I discovered that the bark on the tree trunk had been scraped away at some point in the past, as someone had etched their name into the skin of the tree. Over the years the tree had grown, but the name that had been carved into the tree still remained, almost as if it was a kind of a memory of that person.
You know, a memory is a recollection of something that happened in the past, and these memories can be triggered or remembered by our minds in different ways. Have you been walking somewhere when you smelled something quite distinct and immediately a memory popped back into your head of something that happened to you many years earlier? This happens to me all the time. It can be any of your senses, sight, touch, taste, hearing, or smell, and occasionally one of these senses are triggered and they bring back those memories.
Some people might acquire certain awards or trophies for doing something, and those trophies will act as a memory for them, as well as something for others to see what that person has accomplished in their life. A proof of their time on the Earth, I guess you could say. Something to be remembered by.
We will have many memories during our life, but how will you be remembered by others? What will others remember about your life? What things will “stick out”? As Christians, our desire should be to serve the Lord completely with everything that we do, and a part of that is being a light to the world for all to see. A light is used in the dark to light up one’s path, and we want our light to light up the way for others so that they may see the path that leads to Christ.
Matthew 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
We should desire to show others, by our actions, what it means to be a Christian. We want our life to be looked at and remembered for what we did with our time, just as we can see what the apostles did through reading the scriptures. Like trophies on a wall, the books of the Bible are memories of the men of God that chose to preach for Him. Their life and their faith we can clearly see through the writings that we have of them. It’s there, for all to see.
Like a tree that leaves behind its fruit, we should want our faith to produce fruit as well, a result and proof of our time on the Earth. A life that has been well spent in the teachings of the Lord, one that can be looked to for an example to others to follow.
What shows your faith? Can people see it? What memory will you leave behind?
In Christ
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 