Category: Obedience

  • A Decaying Legacy

    Our true legacy is in Christ

    old pier posts on Fraser River - a legacy of times gobe by. Where is your legacy?

    There isn’t much left of this old pier on the Fraser River. A few  nearly rotted-out pilings mark the spot where it once stood. What was its story?

    Was it used to moor small craft? For logging? Fisheries? All are possibilities along this stretch of the river. It once served a purpose, but now it sits largely forgotten and will eventually decay, slowly rotting away until nothing remains to show it was ever there.

    Places like these, along with old abandoned buildings, capture my imagination. I wonder what their story was, and long to hear the tales they could tell if they could speak.

    Alas, they remain silent, unable to share their history and legacy. As I pondered the ruins, I wondered what my legacy would be. How will I be remembered? It’s a natural question.

    Few of us leave a legacy that lasts more than a couple of generations. Of all the billions of people who have ever lived, relatively few have left behind a mark remembered more than two or three generations. Even most of those faded into obscurity over the long haul. 

    Wealthy individuals spend fortunes to ensure their names live on in hospitals, libraries, and sports stadiums. Yet those things are eventually replaced, renamed, or fall into ruins.

    While it would be nice, in a way, to leave a legacy here on earth that lasts forever, it’s not going to happen.

    I hope that the legacy of my life results in a few words from Jesus when I arrive in glory.

    In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a master who entrusts some currency to some servants. Two of the servants are faithful to invest it well, but the third does not.

    To the servants who were faithful, Jesus says, 

    His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ Mathew 25:21 ESV

    I long to hear those words. In truth, I haven’t always been faithful, and the times I have been, it was only with this help. Still, I long to please the one who died to save me.

    My performance won’t impact my salvation. We are saved by grace, through faith in His finished work. Yet He loved me enough to die for me, how else can I show my gratitude?

    I pray that your legacy is to hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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  • Foxes – Obedience to Jesus

    Red Fox

    Early this morning, I heard the eerie sound of foxes yipping. It  reminded me of a time when I was driving home after dropping our eldest son, Kris, off at a camp/retreat center where he was working for the summer. Off to the side of the road, I saw a big red fox. 

    She appeared to be in good shape and had what looked like a rabbit in her jaws. I thought she was headed home to share the meal with her kits. Wherever she was going, she was making good time.

    That sound and memory of the fox stayed with me the rest of the night, and I awoke thinking of Jesus’ words.

    As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62 ESV

    These are strange words from the Son of God, who came to save people. They seem almost harsh and uncaring. Do they mean that Jesus has no compassion?

    Not at all! It was His love for us, His compassion for us, that brought Him to earth as an infant. He came to rescue us. This story is designed to show how people often respond to God’s call on their lives. It has nothing to do with the largesse of Jesus’ heart.

    Like the men in this gospel account, we often declare that we are Jesus’ disciples. However, in this passage and others, He clearly tells us that following Him has a cost. Our faith and discipleship will be tested.

    Yet, when push comes to shove and we are called to follow, we offer up some excuse or another.

    I will follow you anywhere, Lord, as long as it is where I want to go and when I want to go. I will follow you anywhere, Lord, except there. I will do what you command, but surely, you do not really expect me to forgive “him,” do you? You do not really want me to give, do you? You cannot mean that I should be the one to give in.

    Are any of these sounding remotely familiar? The truth is that “No, Lord” is an oxymoron. The only correct answer is “Yes, Lord”.

    Following Jesus isn’t always easy. Anyone who says it is either doesn’t understand the truth or is a liar.

    Are you saying yes when He asks? Or are you making excuses?

    You will not lose your salvation if you say no, but you will miss out on many blessings. You will be the poorer for your reluctance.

    Until next time, may you be able to say “Yes” to all that He asks of you.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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