Life is lived moving forward, but it’s good to look in the rear view mirror once in a while.
WHAT WILL YOU LEAVE BEHIND?
Recently, I did some off roading in the mountains here in Colorado. I came across old structures and enjoyed taking pictures of them.
Hard to believe this old mine once produced gold! What a happenin’ place it must have been. The imagination allows you to picture this structure new and bursting with activity as men toiled to produce gold. Now all that remains is a pile of wood – a shadow of once was.
I came across a few cabins, roofs long gone and one had a 20 foot tree growing inside. And yet, imagine when there was not only a roof, but a floor and furniture and people eating, sleeping, laughing and calling this home.
It got me thinking. What will remain of my life’s efforts one hundred years from now? What ‘ruins’ will hint at how I spent my limited time here on earth? How have I spent my time and what mattered most to me? What will last and what will vanish without a trace?
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 says:
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
My favorite was this water tower which once supplied refreshing water to a large area. While it is no longer in use, it has been restored to preserve the memory of what it once provided.
There is so much I enjoy about life – I’ve been told many times I have too many hobbies and interests. I probably do! My favorite T-shirt is a Calvin and Hobbes T-shirt where Calvin laments:
God placed me on this earth to accomplish a set number of things. Right now, I am so far behind, I will never die.
It’s a great joke, because of course, our days are numbered. But I hope when that time comes, the investments I have made in others will be the final verdict on my life. And while the rest will pass to ruins, having served it’s purpose while I was here, I hope that what I have done for others lives on.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT WILL OUT LAST YOU? Be sure that is where you invest the most of your precious time.
