Accountability Part 3: Legacy

My great-aunt went to be with God on Sunday. While we will miss her, it is a time of celebration because she lived a life that touched so many and that meant so much, and we know that she has eternal life through Christ. She was a child of God, and left a legacy of faithfulness and godly example.

This week, as I have heard from people, I’ve heard so much about how she touched their lives in a spiritual way. She allowed God to use her for His purposes and made everlasting impact on lives. I sat at the piano on Wednesday night and realized that every hymn I know, I learned from her. She was my first piano teacher, and she valued the hymns even more than the classics. Thanks to her, I can even play the ones in Ab (sometimes).

I spoke with someone on Sunday who made this statement to me: “She touched so many lives and left such a legacy. I’m thinking of my legacy, and outside of work, I don’t have anything that I’m invested in.” That was a pretty indicting statement. It caused me to pause and take evaluation of my own life.

1 Corinthians 3:10-16 says, “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is in Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (NIV)

This is a pretty profound admonishment. I began to think about the foundations that I am laying on top of what Christ has already laid. Here were some of the questions I asked myself: “Am I doing _____ (I could fill in the blank with countless things) for my glory or for God’s glory?” “Am I treating others, especially my family, as Christ would?” “Am I building things by eternal standards (things that will last) or earthly standards (things that will crumble)?” I just have to be honest…I didn’t like some of the answers I got. Those are the areas that I need to re-evaluate today and ask God for help in changing those areas. Sometimes, I focus so hard on lifting my gaze and looking upward, that sometimes I forget to make sure that my feet are firmly planted and rooted in the deep roots of the foundation that He has laid.

As a worship leader, this foundation is particularly important. In Numbers, Chapter 8, God says that the Levites (worship leaders) are to be ceremonially clean…purified. He says that they take the place of the firstborn – they are meant to be sacrifices. They are to be presented before the LORD as a wave offering so that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord. They are to be set apart from the other Israelites. I don’t know enough to know what all of that means, nor do I know enough about Jewish tradition to understand all of the ceremonies. But what is very clear is that we are held to a higher standard. God expects more from us – those of us who are leading His people in worship. Wow….that’s a lot to take in. At least, it is for me. It can seem overwhelming, but instead of seeing it as a burden, we need to see it as an honor. We need to pray daily to be more righteous – not in a Bible beating sort of way, but in a God-honoring way. We need to ask Him to transform us DAILY!

I sat awake this morning, and I can’t begin to tell you the list of things that need to change in my life. I can only tackle one at a time, and I know that He will help me prioritize them and accomplish what He has asked me to do. One of the chief things I feel He has asked me to do is to make sure I surround myself with people that I am accountable to, and to make sure that I make accountability a priority in our ministries.

We all need trusting, authentic voices—people that speak truth into our lives. So, my prayer is that we won’t be afraid to speak out when those times are necessary. The fact of the matter is that life is only going to get busier. It’s never going to get easier this side of Heaven – not if we’re continuing to work toward eternal gain. So, let’s hold each other’s feet to the fire, and make sure that as we lift our gaze, we’re not building faulty structures on the foundation that Christ has already laid.

Philippians 1:4-6 “I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” NIV

Living Water

I have spent this week in kind of a funk. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the September 11th attack. Do you still see those planes hitting those buildings? It's an image forever burned in my mind. Every year I go into a time of rememberance and mourning.

Then, this week, I've watched the devastation Hurricane Ike has hurled upon places like Haiti and Cuba. I spent so much time praying on Monday as it made landfall not far from where I stayed while I was in Cuba. I thought of the family I stayed with, and wondered about their safety. I prayed as they mentioned that the road that took me to the families I worked with was completely under water because a reservoir had flooded it. They were cut off. I prayed as I remembered the food shortage that was there after the last hurricane -- for years! And I wondered what this one would bring. I remembered how I would slosh mud on me as I walked through the streets after a light rain, and imagined the people being swept away by the mud. I can put faces on those people. They had almost nothing to begin with, and now what do they have left?

I felt silly even asking that question of God. He's never slow to remind us that earthly things are temporary, but He is eternal. God reminded me of what they DO have. The people I met had a burning passion for Him -- for His Word. They fed on it day and night. It was their sustenance. So, my prayers began to change. Rather than prayers questioning God, they were prayers petitioning God to draw more people to Him -- to place unbelievers next to these strong believers that I know there. And that they would be able to lead people to Him. I know they will be faithful. I know He is with them.

Our Pastor has talked about the next two years' journey through this church, as we read through the Bible together. I am so excited about that journey together. One of the images He presented on Sunday was from the scripture Revelation 10:9:

"And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey."

As I thought of my brothers and sisters in Cuba, I thought of that passage. For years, they have literally devoured the Word daily. They feed on it! I am praying right now that their bellies are full of the Word and that their mouths are sweet as honey as they use this time to dig out from under the mud and win souls to Christ.

Psalm 42:1-2 & 7-8 says: As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; v.7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me. The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.

As we encounter tragedies, violence, nature's wrath, difficulty, etc. I cling to that final promise in verse 8--the promise that He is with us and will not leave us--it doesn't say "might" be with me, it says "will" be with me: The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night.

Lord, we cling to You. You are our Rock. We pray that as we continue on this journey that You will remind us of the sustenance that Your Word brings. We pray that You will fill our bellies with it, and help us to devour it in such a way that it is the first thing that comes forth in times of challenge. We know that You have Your hand on Your people. We know that You watch over us day and night. Thank You for never abandoning us and never forsaking us, but always loving and encouraging us as we walk daily with You.