My Epitaph….

A couple of nights ago, I was watching a rerun of Frasier, a popular TV show of a decade ago. In this particular episode, Frasier had been to the emergency room, but left before being seen. As soon as he left, his name was called….when no one spoke up, another man said that he was Frasier and stepped in to take his place in the ER system. The man died and it was recorded that the eminent radio personality, Frasier Crane had died.

Frasier saw his death announced on TV and before he could make the necessary calls to squash this horrid story, the morning newspaper had printed his obituary. He sat down at the breakfast table and with his morning coffee; he read what seemed to be his life’s story in a few simple lines on page 14 E….buried deep in the part of the paper that no one reads. He was TOTALLY devastated that his years of seeming accomplishments had been reduced to a few run on sentences. He vowed then to begin to do ALL those things that he had promised himself in his days of youth he would accomplish….

Well, the whole thing got me thinking about a scripture that I had read just a few days before during my QT…..when I, too, began to question what others might have to say about the life that I have lived.

Paul, in his stirring letter to the Galatians, is sharing his testimony with the church at Galatia. He is telling them of his call to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, about his visit to Jerusalem to meet with Peter and the others and of his evangelism in the regions of Syria and Cilicia; however, it is the last three verses in chapter one that struck my heartstrings, “And I was still unknown in person to the churches in Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” AND THEY GLORIFIED GOD BECAUSE OF ME!”(My emphasis)

That is what I want to have printed in the paper…written on a headstone …spoken from the pulpit at my funeral….They glorified the Father because of me!

Now, there may not be a line of folks waiting to say “a few good words” or there may not be a packed house when I’ve gone home to meet my Lord…but my prayer will be that those that knew me well will give glory to God for the life I lived before them.

What about you? What will your obituary say about the life that you’ve lived? How will those that loved you remember the days you spent among them? What will your epitaph be….Glad that He’s gone…or….Heaven’s a richer place now that He’s home?

The choice really is yours….you decide how you want to live for Jesus? Quietly in the shadows or in the forefront of ministry to those in need….Live today for Jesus…have no regrets tomorrow!!!!

Blessed beyond measure…living for the glory of the Father,
WPQ