Time May Forget You, But God Never Will
I was thinking the other day about how meaningless the life of an unsaved person is because all they do here on earth will be forgotten in eternity. After the Great White Throne Judgment they will be cast into the lake of fire and their entire life will be forever forgotten by those in God’s Kingdom, Revelation 20:15. Isaiah wrote concerning the ungodly, “You punished them and brought them to ruin; you wiped out all memory of them,” Isaiah 26:14.
At the same time, I then began to think as King Solomon did in the book of Ecclesiastes that both the fool and wise man will have the same fate here on earth- we will all die and be forgotten, Ecclesiastes 2:14. As a result, I wanted to write and show that how even if time forgets us here on earth, God will never forget us. And since the work I do is as a shepherd for God’s people I felt it best to write about this “fate” from that angle because many of us battle with “ministerial insignificance.”
Who Do You Remember From the 1700’s
Without “googling” or “researching” I challenge you to try and personally name as many pastors, teachers, and authors that you know who had their ministry from 1700-1750 AD. Also, add to the question, how often do you read their books & sermons or even think about them? Let’s be honest, practically speaking they have little to no effect in our everyday lives. For the most part when we choose to read and study- we mostly choose those within our own generation.
As for me, I could only name three leaders from 300 years ago… and out of the three Christian leaders really only one stuck out to me. Meaning, I’ve read some of his work and been impacted by his life. However, during that 50 year time period literally tens of thousands of godly men and women served the Lord and forwarded the Christian faith, but to most of us living today time has forgotten their names, their work for the Lord, and their fruit.
The Ordinary Are Important To God, But Easily Forgotten By People
For example, in 1713 there were thousands of “ordinary” pastors (not famous), just like you and I, who worked night and day for God’s people and are no more remembered here on earth. They studied seriously, preached passionately, prayed purposely, gave generously, and discipled diligently; however, after they died their churches filled in their positions and time covered over their lives like a thick blanket.
Now consider this, you and I will be viewed in our ministries in the years 2000-2050 by people in 2300 AD (300 years from now should the Lord tarry) in the exact same way. For 99.99% of us, our books will be forgotten, our sermons laid aside, and our personalities will be nothing but a forgotten shadow.
Time will cast us into the void of history. For the most part no one will remember your sermons, sense of humor, compassion, or even your dedication. Three hundred years from now people might just name 3-5 leaders in our era and consider you and I just a grain of sand in their sand castle. They might even say something like, “It must have been awesome to be alive when Joel Osteen was preaching!”
We Don’t Even Remember Our Own Family Tree
Seriously think about it, most of us can’t even remember our own great grand parent’s names and occupation without the help of online “ancestral trees,” let alone remember “what kind of person they were.” If this is how we in time treat our own family- how much less will people care to remember you and I in one hundred years as their great grand parent’s “pastor.”
Thus, when the Lord returns, all that will matter is what we did for Him in obedience to His will. Our popularity, book sells, youtube views, church attendance, and denominational awards & titles will not matter much (if any at all) to people in the future. But if we are faithful with the little God gives here in our 50 years of ministry we will be given much in regards to eternal rewards. Because in God’s eternal Kingdom all that is forever remembered is what one did for His name’s sake, 1 Corinthians 3:11-23.
[infobox title=’One Question Remains’]So the question for all of us in ministry today is, “Are the things I’m doing now going to be remembered in eternity?”[/infobox]