Not too long ago, I wrote about the kind of legacy I DON'T want to have. This past Wednesday night, as Dr. T was speaking about Paul's 3rd mission trip, we came across a section that expresses the kind of legacy I DO want to leave. Acts 20:17-38
Paul was headed home. He called some of the leaders from a church he had helped start to meet with him on the way. Here's what he had to say in Acts 20:25-27 "And now, I know that none of you among whom I was preaching the kingdom of God will ever see me again. So today I tell you that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible, because I have told you everything God wants you to know." God had shown him that prison was in his future (verse 23). He knew he wasn't coming back, and that made them all very sad (verses 37-38). Yet he had no regrets. He had told them everything they needed to know. They knew Paul loved them and better still, they knew that God loved them and had sent His Son to pay the ransom for them. The rest was up to them.
When I'm headed home to Heaven, will I have regrets? Will there be people that I love that don't know I love them? Worse, will there be people I love (or just know) that don't know that God loves them and wants to be with them forever and made a way for that to happen. Will it be because I didn't tell them everything God wants them to know?
Thanks for this post. Today I have been struggling about what kind of witness I have been lately. Long story... someone has slandered me and a group of what I thought were my friends have believed every word. It makes me wonder what sort of witness I have that they believed the lies so easily. I am strugging and praying to find that answer.
ReplyDeletedeanna, I'm so sorry about the way your friends reacted. I guess we're all susceptible to that. I'm praying that you'll handle it in a way that allows God to shine through. Maybe it happened for just that purpose.
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