Whether we put them to writing or not most of us have goals, (things we want to accomplish in life). I used to be a fanatic on goals and would begin feverishly working on them in October and would not have them completed and put to writing until mid-January; then I would frantically work towards achieving them for the rest of the year.
I devised spiritual goals, personal goals, and career goals, and I took them and this process very seriously. I worked very hard throughout the year to achieve every last one of them and usually did just that.
Yesterday I spent much of the day wrapping up the affairs of my dad. I went by his room and gathered the few keepsakes that I wanted from among his remaining possessions and gave the rest away. I also went to his bank, cancelled his credit card, sifted through his important papers, made decisions where necessary, dropped by the funeral home and made final adjustments to his funeral arrangements, determined his pallbearers, wrote his Obituary, and attended his viewing last night.
The funeral director asked if I wanted him to remove his wedding ring before burial. My youngest son does want it as a remembrance so it too will be removed prior to his remains being laid to rest.
As I stood there viewing him last night, I thought about dad’s long life on this earth and the goals that he’d set and achieved. One man came up to me and said that he’d been friends with dad for over 40 years and then he broke down weeping as he expressed that he was the best friend that he’d ever had and he was really going to miss him.
As I greeted and spoke with his many friends I was struck by the consistency of their remarks; to a person they talked about dad’s devotion to God and his Sunday school class, his love of his family and friends, his kindness and warm friendly spirit, his dedication to civic organizations like the Lion’s club, his participation in government where he was Chairman of the Republican party in his county and represented them nationally.
Hmmm . . . God, faith, family, and country – Selah . . .
I thought about the moment that dad arrived in heaven. He didn’t have any clothes; (I gave them away yesterday); he didn’t have any money; (it’s still in his account); he didn’t have any furniture; (I gave it away yesterday); he didn’t have a car; (I’m driving it home this afternoon); he didn’t even have his wedding ring; (my son will take possession of it today),
He arrived like he came into the world naked and devoid of any material possessions, but that is not to say he didn’t have anything. He took with him his service to the Lord in co-founding 4 churches, faithfully teaching Sunday school class, (I kept the plaque that his church gave him for teaching his class for 40 years), and he took with him the memories of all those whom he inspired to follow the Lord through his many years on earth.
So was he perfect? Not hardly, and he would be the first to tell you that. But he loved Jesus and he tried his best to follow Him and when on those infrequent occasions he fell short of the mark, he trusted his God to remove his sins and he did.
The best news about dad’s homecoming is that God saw the blood of Jesus covering his sins and it has permanently blotted them out forever and Jesus has promised to forget about them and never even think of them, (much less bring them up again. Isaiah 43:25 “I – yes, I alone – will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.”)
God cannot lie and this beautiful free gift enabled dad to enter heaven for eternity!
God has also clothed dad in a glorious new body and he has no need of the walker and wheelchair that I gave away yesterday. He now wears the finest of garments fashioned and designed by heavenly hands and he is adorned in the shining glory of God. He’s given him the mansion that He prepared for him and there is no need of a key to lock it. He has freely given dad riches innumerable, and I suspect by now he’s already enjoyed a splendid meal or two hosted by Jesus along with all of his cherished family and friends.
As I review the goals I’ve set and worked so frenetically to achieve in life, I’m embarrassed.
While the world might call me a success according to its standards; I call my father a success according to God’s standards. I spent far too much of my time working on things that will be left behind, (things that wise old King Solomon rightly emphasized are “meaningless”).
Death brings clarity to many things. Most people abhor looking towards their own demise, but the Bible states that it’s helpful for to us to do so – Eccl. 7:4 A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.
As I’ve grown older I’ve developed an attitude similar to the one expressed by Billy Graham. When asked a question pertaining to if there was anything that surprised him concerning this life, he responded that he was surprised by its brevity. There is so much I want to do to make up for, as in time squandered living the life of a prodigal son in the pig sty, and building empires on shifting sand instead of the solid rock of Jesus, and there is so little time remaining.
Well since time is running out I guess I better get to work on building that empire in heaven starting today; how about you?
Matt. 25:21
“Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!”
February 4, 2014 – Click here to listen