Have you ever died? Yea, me neither. Have you ever thought about death? Yea, me too! Death can be a scary thing to think about. It’s the end of one phase of life and then depending on your beliefs it’s the start to a new phase. Because I am a Christian, I believe that I am going to heaven because I have asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me from the sinful life I lived without him. But, death can also provoke thoughts about what is the legacy that you are leaving behind. What will you or your life be known for by your family, your friends, your co-workers, your acquaintances, or even those that never met you here on this side of heaven?
There’s this exercise I have heard of that has you write out your obituary. I haven’t actually done this, but thinking about it makes me contemplate how I am living each and every day. I get the opportunity as a pastor to lead a lot of funerals for individuals I’ve never met. It’s always interesting to hear, from their families, what these people are known for, as we sit around a dinner table to hear stories, so I can put together a funeral to honor the individual that has passed. The families of those individuals that have made a huge impact here on earth have no problem telling stories of their life. Those that haven’t, well, there really isn’t any stories to tell. It’s pretty fascinating.
This year God has been doing a work in me. If you have followed along on this blog journey you have seen that God is showing me how to redefine what a win looks like in my life. Up to this point my life has been all about chasing after success. Whatever you could imagine success looking like is exactly what I have chased after. I have wanted titles, alphabets after my name, money, nice things all because I wanted to look successful. I love competing. I love winning. It’s so bad, that Kara and I can‘t keep score when we play games because one of us will end up sleeping on the couch, and I’ll let you take a guess who that person is...🙋🏼♂️. My life has and to some extent still is about myself. It’s all about what I can accomplish so that I can....blank. You fill in the blank and that’s what my life has been. It’s been all about me.
This year it is beginning to shift though. One of the things I believe God is showing me is that maybe my life is about other people. Maybe, my biggest win in life is helping other people win. Snap. That’s easy to say, but just being real here, it’s hard to comprehend and live out. Although, I am beginning to find some joy in this process. I’m beginning to discover that the impact, influence, or difference that I can make in someone else’s life is going to come from serving, and having a relationship with others, more than it will be from the platform I can build for myself to be seen as successful.
Then, I began thinking, what if others around me at Life.Church Norman began living their life for others too. What might happen? Life.Church Norman could be known by the people in the community serving one another, meeting each other’s needs, and loving one another, and not just by the beautiful building on the corner of HWY 9 and Imhoff. What if we were known by the people? Is it too radical to think like that or even to ask that question? I think these are easy words to type out, but maybe harder to actually live out. Because, what would it actually take to love your neighbor? Sounds good, but can we do it? Are we willing to do it? I think to get to this place we will actually have to begin knowing our neighbors. We will have to go beyond the friendly hand wave and actually getting our hands dirty and sitting in the mess of life with others. I haven’t conquered this. I’m actually just on the journey, trying to learn along the way.
Death, it’s a morbid thought, but what will you be known for? What is the legacy you are leaving behind for those around you? Will you be known for how successful you were, or by successful you helped others be?
