SIGNIFICANCE of that SMALL DASH

Dearest Saints, I just arrived back from attending my Mother-in-laws funeral this past week and have noticed a poem in the funeral parlour I have always liked. It definitely gives us something to think about. There is a wonderful poem written by Linda Ellis in 1996 and is copyrighted that is titled "The Dash". So I won't copy and paste for that purpose, but I would like to put this in my words as the Lord leads because when we think of something small like a dash, it is so significant that it determines everyone's eternal destiny of how we lived during that time within that "dash". When we read someone's obituary we notice the date of their Birth and date of their death and then there is a dash in between. When someone gives a eulogy of the deceased, they don't talk about the day they were born, nor talk about the day they passed away. But all is said about each member during the dash in between those dates. When a person looks at a dash, one would think about the short time they have spent on earth, even if they live to be 100 or more, it is still such a very very short time compared to eternity. A dash on one's tombstone may easily just be overlooked entirely. I like to ask myself a question and hope each of you will do the same. What would people say about us during the time that is represented in that dash between Birth and death? Have we lived our lives selfishly, only kept within our small little group, seldom gave any acknowledgement to the Lord for Who He is, trying to live a good life by our own standards? Or did we trust and rely on Him to live to give Him the glory and be a rich blessing and encouragement to one another? One thing is for certain, that all the worldly ambitions one may have and all the accumulations one could ever try to attain, or just trying to live a "good life" is not going to matter during that "dash" unless we allowed Christ to truly be Lord of our lives, inviting Him in and have that daily, increasing rich relationship to see our need of His Lordship over our lives. When we don't ask Christ to help us be the person we are meant to be, we labour in vain and our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isa 64:6) because it is only His Goodness that we allow to work through us. The greatest achievement I would like my life to be said of me is for someone to say that I lived unselfishly and wanted to live for the Lord by living for others, giving to others, being an inspiration to others to be the best they can be and encourage one another to get the most of Gods Word working to empower them to do good. Even for the Christians, I feel it is a dying shame that we don't share that love outwardly by staying safely within our little group and fail to let His Word have its fullness to work in us and through us by living just within our little corner of small friends. Christ spent much of His time with many outsiders and we are told to be imitators of Christ (Eph 5:1). So that means to live as He did. If we will humble ourselves and ask God to help us use our God given talents to be a rich blessing and encouragement to others, that small dash between birth and death will mean so much more. God has given everyone talents and we need to ask Him to reveal all of our talents and help us use our talents to be a rich blessing to others to advance His Kingdom and not be like that wicked servant who hid his talent (Matt 25:18-30). So don't waste any talent or think you have none when He has given all of us talents to use. This is when that small dash means so much because it will determine our eternal destiny. May we ask God to truly bless us to receive all He suffered to give us and be all we can be for His glory. Our lives are lived most successfully when we humble ourselves enough to always choose His ways over our ways and always relying solely on Him. Then others who may recite our eulogy will be able to tell others the hope that was within us that will continue to have that positive impact on others, even though the time will come when we may not be around to tell them ourselves. In the Matchless Name of Jesus Richard Ministry Encourager Answers2Prayer http://sites.google.com/site/greatestbuilderforourlife http://www.answers2prayer.org/ www.helpingcopewithhope.blogspot.com