Have I told you lately...that I once crashed a funeral?
Okay, it sounds more dramatic than it actually was. I did go to a funeral for a guy I never met. I didn't even know his name before walking in to the funeral. I went to support a friend who was very close to the deceased and involved in the service.
It was an interesting experience to say the least. I laughed. I sobbed (and I'm not even that much of a crier!). And I learned a lot...about a person I never knew. As I attended this man's funeral, I realized that in a way, the comments of his friends, family members and neighbors were part of his legacy--what they said revealed so much about his impact on the world.
It raised questions in my head like...What will people say about me? What will they write about my life? When I'm not involved in someone's life on a day-to-day basis anymore, what will they miss (if anything) about me?
I thought about my funeral crashing experience...and the idea of legacy...when I read today's passage. There are (at least) two people summarized in this section of Scripture. And they're very different.
Here's Herod's obituary of sorts:
Herod had given God no credit
for anything.
Down he went.
Rotten to the core,
a maggoty old man
if there ever was one,
he died.
Eww. That summary of a life is disgusting, repulsive and very tragic all at the same time.
And then there was a summary of Barnabus' character (though Barnabus is still living in this section of the text!):
As soon as he arrived (in Antioch),
he saw that God was behind and in it all.
He threw himself in with them,
got behind them,
urging them to stay with it
the rest of their lives.
He was a good man that way,
enthusiastic and confident
in the Holy Spirit's ways.
What a different summary! I love that Barnabus is described as "enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit's ways." (Forgive my lingo, but although his name wasn't hot, that characteristic definitely is!). :) Seriously, Barnabus sounds like a man who was passionate--about God and about helping people. Plus, he was boldly confident. LOVE!
I would so much rather find one of those guys (and be one of those girls) than a "maggoty old man...rotten to the core."
So let's do it--let's live our legacy. Right. Now.
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