Just One More Question

 Several years ago I attended the funeral of the father of a longtime friend.  The pastor told a story that has stayed with me through these years.  He shared that his father had died recently and that his sister had visited the cemetery several days after the funeral and had taken her young son along.  She was busy clearing away dead flowers when she saw that her son had a small shovel and was digging in the fresh dirt of the gravesite.  She told him that he could not dig there because that was where his grandfather had been buried.  His response was “ But I just have one more question to ask him.”

That child’s response has been in my heart since that time.  It made me think that when I die, what questions do I NOT want someone to wish they had asked me. There are some things I want people to know without question. I have made a list of those questions and I desire this list to drive my life and the decisions that I make.

• Did she have a personal relationship with Jesus?
• Did she love the Lord with all of her heart?
• Did her behavior at home and in public honor the Lord and her family?
• Was she honest in her word and deed?
• Did she use the talents and resources she had been given for the Lord?
• Did she love her family and did she demonstrate that love daily?
• Was she humble in spirit?
• Did she often praise the Lord for the blessings He provided to her?
• Was she obedient in the call the Lord had placed on her life?
• Did she freely share her passion for the Lord with those she came in contact with?
• Is she with the Lord in her heavenly home?
• Did she spend time daily in prayer and Bible Study?

What about you?  What story does your life tell to others?  Are there questions that may need to be asked when you are gone?  What questions would you want someone NOT to have to ask about your life?  I encourage you to make a list of those questions and ask the Lord to lead you to areas of your life that need to be strengthened so that His light will shine in your life.

Matthew 5: 14-16

“ You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”