What Will You Be Remembered For... Really?

Being on the pastoral staff at a church for almost 10 years allowed me to be involved with literally thousands of people’s lives over the years. And one of the things that we had to participate in was funerals (I hated funerals and hospital visits... I don't like seeing people hurting-emotionally or physically). Obviously, funerals are one of the tougher parts of the job and probably one the most difficult things to have to walk people through. It’s emotionally taxing but it’s an honor to be able to help comfort the families (especially when you know the deceased are believers).
I remember when I first started at the church and one of our church members died. It was actually somebody that I knew (I hadn’t met that many people yet, so the fact that it was somebody I knew was unusual). It was a man that I had connected with and we had ministered in downtown Atlanta together the month before. So, when I heard the news I was very sad. I actually even cried.
When I got to the funeral, and was helping greet people who were arriving, I was shocked to see the man that I was there to mourn walking up the walkway into the church! What? How could this be? I mean... I had shed actual tears for this man. And here he was alive and in the flesh. Long story short, when I received the phone call I heard his name and not the actual person who died (their names were similar though). It was one of those “phone tree” things and ... anyway, the man was still alive. So everyone got a good laugh at my expense. When I confessed my misunderstanding of the phone tree message and that I actually cried for someone who was still alive, people thought it was really funny... even the man who I thought had passed: )

Oh well...
Last month I received news, here in Brazil, that one of the students from Revolution (our youth group where we were the youth pastors in the U.S.) had passed away. From what I understand, there were complications after he had his wisdom teeth removed and he passed away in his sleep a day or so after his surgery. When I heard the news I was totally shocked. This guy was solid. What I remember the most about him was that he had a hunger for God. He was always so eager to learn more about Jesus and he always had his Bible on Sunday Mornings (which is unusual for a teenager). He had a really deep voice so I always asked him to read the passage (with the mic) for me during service. He had that whole “James Earl Jones thing” goin’ on. What I learned after he passed away was that he was a stellar athlete who played basketball and that he was a mentor to other student athletes as well. I had no idea that he was basketball player because he never talked about it. I remember a conversation we had one Sunday Morning after a service where he asked me to pray with him because he wanted to make sure that he was putting God before sports but that was the extent of what I knew about him and I didn't even know what sports he was involved in, I only knew about his hunger and passion for God. That’s what I remember. What an awesome thing to be remembered for too... a hunger for more of God. Even though he was an athlete with skills and people looked-up to him for that... I didn’t know Jerry for that. I knew him as a kid who loved God and wanted to pursue Him above everything else. What an inspiration. Rest in Peace Jerry Coleman. Gonna miss you, buddy.
So, the question for you and me is this... “what will we be remembered for?” As a hard worker? A star athlete? A person who dressed nice? Someone who was loving? Someone who helped people? Someone who had wealth? A person who was smart?What? Jeremiah 9:23-24 says,

“let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth.”

It’s OK that we’re smart, rich and strong but what we need to be more boastful about is that we know God. And that’s what I want to be remembered for... someone who knew Jesus and was constantly in pursuit of Him. What about you? What do you want to be remembered for?

Passionately Following Jesus,
Jim

PS- The picture up top is of Jerry when he played at Central Gwinnett. Today is the 1 month anniversary of his passing, he was 19. Let's continue to pray for his family.