Today I attended the funeral for the sweetest little boy on the planet. My friend Christian was called home this past week. No parent should have to bury their child, and it seemed so wrong to have to say goodbye to this precious boy. While at his funeral, I realized something. As I listened to everyone talk about how sweet, how silly, and how special Christian was, I started thinking about the legacies we leave behind. So often at funerals we talk about the character of the deceased, how kind they were, or how they made people laugh, or how they encouraged others. We share precious memories of them, show the best pictures of their life, and highlight the best moments. Yet so often, we don't highlight the things we as humans (especially we as Americans) hold dear. We don't talk about how much money they made, their hours in the coporate world, their possessions. We remember them for intangible things, not necessarily things of this world.
And then on the way home, I got to thinking. When someone sits down to write my eulogy, I want them to be able to easily focus on my character. I want them to talk about my faith, my love for Jesus, my love for others, etc. So if I want people to talk about these things, why am I so apt to focus on my job, my salary, and my possessions? Why do I not focus on my relationship with God more? Do I want people to say that I worked really hard? Or do I want people to say that I loved without abandon, and showed people Christ's love through me? I feel like Paul tonight, crying out against the weakness of my flesh. So often I see my goal, a living relationship with my living Savior, yet I fall short. It's easier to focus on the material. Easier to wrap myself in tangible, practical things. Yet, that's not what walking with Christ is about. It's about loving. Listening. Learning. Seeking to do His will. That's what I'm praying for. That's the legacy I want to leave behind. That should be my eulogy.
