Recently I was working at my second office...Starbucks. I noticed something across the busy street. It was a graveyard.
Secondly, I noticed that there was also a non-stop flow of cars racing past it.
People driving to work...school...errands...appointments.
I also thought about the fact that all of the people driving past the graveyard probably didn't even notice that there was a graveyard there. Their focus was on the present and daily tasks that lay ahead for them.
Here are a few thoughts I had while watching this scenario.
Everyone is headed for the graveyard.
Only what is done for Christ will last past the graveyard. Your ministry to the kids will outlast everything that is temporal.
Most people don't think past today. The present dominates the future. You have to be intentional about planning and preparing for the future.
Live for what matters most. Your car will rust out. Your house will one day be leveled. Your bank account balance will be turned over to your kids and your grand kids. Your golf clubs will be sold in a yard sale. Your TV will be replaced with a larger model.
Live for what will last for eternity. Live for reaching people with the Gospel. Live for discipling people. Live for building relationships with people. Live for spiritually investing in the next generation.
You can't take your "stuff" with you. I've never seen a u-haul behind a hearse. Live for the eternal rather than for the temporary.
Did you know that Napoleon asked that when he was carried through the city for his funeral procession, that they cut holes in the sides of coffin and hang his arms out. He wanted every one to know that he came into the wold with nothing and he was leaving the world with nothing.
Be reminded of what will last forever. The grave yard puts this into the proper perspective. Be reminded that the only treasure that will endure is the treasure that you lay up in heaven. Give your time, energy, and resources to what will last long term. The Bible reminds us to lay up treasure in heaven where the moth cannot ruin it and no one can steal it.
I see the graveyard often as I work. It motivates me to give my time, energy, and resources to what really matters. May God fill your life with a passion to live with eternity in mind.
