Preceding with Goodness

Ecclesiastes 7:1

 

1A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth;

 

 

What do people think when they hear your name? What word most commonly describes who you are? Are you known for standing up for righteousness? Are you known as a kind and loving person? Does the reputation you have precede you with goodness? Or are you known simply by self-seeking deeds and half-heartedness?  Why would a person's death be more celebrated than their birth? Because by their death, there should've been plenty of time to impact those around them with the love of God. When someone says that dead person's name, does a smile, laugh and warm heart follow?

 

Earlier this year my family lost a great elder. I knew he was great but the testimonies at his memorial were so wonderful that I was SO proud to be his grand niece. My uncle, a man who served this country, his city and loved not only his children but the children in the community as well. He was a well-known business man in the city were I am from. If you mentioned the name of his business, anyone in town would've known it. He spent a lot of time mentoring children. I knew he was a role model in our family but that day, to hear all the stories of the lives of the children he touched, I felt honored to be related to him. Our family shared stories online as to the man he was. I gave a personal testimony of an event that occurred 33 years ago. At the last family reunion we both attended, he still remembered that event like it was yesterday. For me, it was the first time I realized how others saw the color line. See, my uncle wasn't the same color as me. To me, that didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was a family member. My first grade classmates didn't believe he was my uncle when he walked in the lunch room. But when I called him Uncle by name and he turned and waved, they all looked in amazement. My uncle was a jokester and loved to laugh but he also had a big heart. The kind of home going service he had, was just as amazing as my late stepfather's, A man of distinction, known by his heart and wonderful deeds. Even if a person didn't know God, they were exposed to Him because the love of God existed in a man.

 

How will you be remembered? It's something to think about.