1 Timothy 1:15,16 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
Paul, by God’s grace, was given a second chance to reinvent himself so that his life counted for good as a church leader and planter instead of for bad as a church destroyer. Seeing how people will view us once we’re gone can be very helpful in determining how we take decisions and choose to live today.
In 1898, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel woke up one morning and read his own obituary in the local newspaper. It went as follows: “Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before, and he died a very rich man.” It transpired that it was in fact Alfred’s older brother who had died – the newspaper reporter had got his facts wrong. But for Alfred, it was a blessing in disguise and a wake-up call. It had a profound effect on him. He hated the idea of being remembered for developing the means to kill people efficiently and for amassing lots of money. So he initiated the Nobel Prize, the award for scientists and writers who foster peace. Nobel said: “Every man ought to have the chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one.”
It’s easy to take decisions that make us deviate ever so slightly from our core purpose and values, and not notice at first. Today could be an opportunity to make some changes so that we, like Alfred Nobel and the apostle Paul, indeed live out the epitaph we want to be ours by the time we graduate to glory.
Lord, I choose today to be true to who you’re calling me to be. Amen!
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