Some of you reading this are simply curious as to what the heck an epitaph is ( I know I was); so before we continue, I thought it wise to share the wikipedia definition of epitaph.
An epitaph (from Greek ἐπιτάφιον epitaphion "a funeral oration" from ἐπί epi "at, over" and τάφος taphos "tomb")[1] is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epitaph)
If we look at recent events going on in our world, or simply look at our own mortality we quickly see life is short and it can be taken away from us at any moment.
We are not in control of our death, but we can allow God do use our lives for greatness!
Our lives tell a story and that story will either be written down and remembered or it will be quickly forgotten...depending on how good the story is.
I remember talking with my boss at Chili's named Rob and we were discussing life, and the story we tell as well as who makes it good. Rob who is a non-practicing Jew shared with me that he believes we make our story good or bad and God has little to nothing to do with how it plays out.
I disagreed with my boss and friend and shared that my story would be terrible without God because He's the one who redeemed me from the pit of both my sin and my circumstances.
We parted ways agreeing to disagree but I still remember that conversation well. Now, the question comes in: what will your epitaph say?
What story will the lines about your life tell? A.M. Rosenthal has a boring story of "Keeping the Paper Straight". I for one don't want such a boring, un adventurous epitaph.
When we look at the people of the Bible and see how their lives were changed by allowing the master in to do His work within them, their epitaph's changed. Gideon, Peter, Paul, Joshua, Moses, Samson, Deborah, Daniel and the list could go on. All of these had one thing in common: their lives were boring before they let God write their stories.
Gideon was a whiny baby. Peter was a simple fisherman. Paul was a religious zealot who killed for his religion. Joshua was an ordinary soldier. Moses was a foreigner in the palace. Samson was a sexual deviant. Deborah was a woman in a man-centric society and Daniel was a exile.
God made their epitaph's different. Sure they chose in (for the most part) but they couldn't be the one's to do what they did on their own, they needed God to infuse them, embolden them, strengthen them and lead them.
Will you live and lead in such a way that gives God the copyrights on your story? Will you allow Him to birth desires, callings, strengths and adventures within you, or will you live your life for yourself and have a boring epitaph like our good buddy A.M. Rosenthal?
When we look at the people of the Bible and see how their lives were changed by allowing the master in to do His work within them, their epitaph's changed. Gideon, Peter, Paul, Joshua, Moses, Samson, Deborah, Daniel and the list could go on. All of these had one thing in common: their lives were boring before they let God write their stories.
Gideon was a whiny baby. Peter was a simple fisherman. Paul was a religious zealot who killed for his religion. Joshua was an ordinary soldier. Moses was a foreigner in the palace. Samson was a sexual deviant. Deborah was a woman in a man-centric society and Daniel was a exile.
God made their epitaph's different. Sure they chose in (for the most part) but they couldn't be the one's to do what they did on their own, they needed God to infuse them, embolden them, strengthen them and lead them.
Will you live and lead in such a way that gives God the copyrights on your story? Will you allow Him to birth desires, callings, strengths and adventures within you, or will you live your life for yourself and have a boring epitaph like our good buddy A.M. Rosenthal?
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