At the End of the Day: How Will You Be Remembered?

by James W. Moore

Overview

At the end of the day, what will people say about you? If folks were totally candid, totally honest, how would your epitaph read? In the Talmud it is suggested that to be successful in this life you should plant a tree, have a child, or write a book. This means you should be sure that you have exerted an influence for good in this life that lives on after your days are on earth are done. In each chapter popular author James W. Moore asks the question, “Just how will you be remembered...” as one who knew Christ’s healing love, who celebrated the joy of the journey, who knew the Gift of the Holy Spirit, who knew how to trust the right things, who knew the power of compassion, who knew how to teach children the key things in life, who knew the importance of prayer, who knew right from wrong, who knew the significance of the battle within, who knew the power of words, who knew “that great gettin’-up mornin'', who knew how to be beautifully extravagant? who knew how to be a real friend, who knew how to close the gate? The book’s epilogue provides some valuable insight into how to become that kind of person and is called “Making Every Day Count!” Also included in the book is a study guide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780687045136
Publisher:	Abingdon Press
Publication date:	12/16/2011
Edition description:	Paperback
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

James W. Moore (1938–2019) was an acclaimed pastor and ordained elder in The United Methodist Church. He led congregations in Jackson, TN; Shreveport, LA; and Houston, TX. The best-selling author of over 40 books, including Yes, Lord, I Have Sinned, But I Have Several Excellent Excuses, he also served as minister-in-residence at Highland Park United Methodist Church.

Read an Excerpt

At The End of The Day

How Will You Be Remembered?

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By JAMES W. MOORE

Dimensions for Living

Copyright © 2002 Dimensions for Living
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-687-04513-6

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CHAPTER 1

Will You Be Remembered...

As One Who Knew Christ's Healing Love?

Scripture: Acts 3:1-10

A highway patrolman was driving down an interstate highway one morning when he noticed a potentially dangerous situation. A small black car was driving down the highway at a very slow speed. In fact, the car was moving so slowly that other cars were slamming on their brakes and swerving to get around it. The highway patrolman pulled the slow-moving car over.

When the patrolman walked up to the car he had stopped, he found a car full of nuns. He said to the nun who was driving: "Do you know why I stopped you?"

"I have no idea," said the nun. "Was I doing something wrong?"

"Well," said the patrolman, "you were driving so slowly that it was dangerous."

The nun said, "I kept seeing all these signs with the number 20 on them. I figured that was the speed limit, so I was going exactly 20 miles per hour." "No, no, Sister," the highway patrolman said, "that's the highway sign, not the speed limit. This is Interstate 20, and the speed limit here is 65 miles per hour, not 20."

Just then, the patrolman glanced in the backseat and noticed that the nuns seated back there had a look of stark terror on their faces, a panic-stricken expression, and their knuckles white from holding onto one another so tightly. The patrolman said to the driving nun, "Pardon me for asking, but what's wrong with the nuns in the backseat?" And the driver said, "I don't know, they've been that way ever since we got off Highway 101 a few miles back!"

Many people go through life like that—riding in the backseat, frozen in fear, and following the lead of someone who may be taking them on a dangerous journey because that leader is reading the signs all wrong!

That is precisely what happened to the man in the third chapter of Acts. The leaders of his society had completely misread the signs, and consequently they had told him, "There is no hope for you. You are under the judgment of God. You cannot walk because you or your parents sinned a great sin, and now God is paying you back, and you'll be this way for the rest of your life. We'd like to help you, but we can't tamper with the justice of God. You can go on down to the Temple gate and beg, and maybe somebody will come by and have pity on you and toss you a coin or two. Sorry, but that's the best we can do for the likes of you." Wasn't that a terrible thing to say to that man? But society in that day had no time for a disenfranchised man. And yet, that is exactly how the leaders of his society treated him, day in and day out in so many ways.

But you and I know that they had misread the signs terribly. They had said to him: "There is no hope for you! This is your destiny, so just accept it!" But then one afternoon, along came Peter and John, and they said to him: "It doesn't have to be this way. By the power of Jesus Christ, you can have a new life. We don't have any coins to toss your way, but we've got something to give you that's a whole lot better: 'In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.'" Then, notice this, the words are fascinating here. The Scriptures say that Peter took the man by the right hand and "raised him up"; raised him up! That means he got resurrected!

It was unbelievable. The man discovered that he could stand on his own two feet, and suddenly he began to do a jig right there on the Temple steps. The song of resurrection was being played, and he was dancing to the beat! People came running from all directions. They knew who this man was. He had been a fixture there for some time. He had been sitting there begging every day for years. Someone had always carried him to the Beautiful Gate in the morning and carried him home each night. And now, he was jumping up and down like a man possessed. Peter then said to the crowd that this miracle was done through the power of the risen Christ. It was faith that made it happen. As the story ends, Peter and John and the healed man all link arms and go into the Temple together (v. 11). Don't you know that in that moment, somewhere in heaven, Jesus was smiling, so glad to see his disciples taking up his ministry of healing and redemptive love.

What a great story this is! Not just because it describes a dramatic and wonderful miracle healing that took place long ago, but even more because it also so powerfully outlines what Christ's love can do for you and me right here and right now. Let me show you what I mean with some thoughts that can serve as a great formula for life for you and me. Are you ready? Here's number one.

First of All, Christ's Healing Love Gives Us a Self We Can Live With

This man's self-esteem needed a shot in the arm. All his life, he had been told not only that he was worthless, but also that God had it in for him. Nothing could be further from the truth, but that was the message his world sent him in words and deeds and attitudes. But then, here came Peter and John to tell him that he counted, that he mattered, that he was important, that he was special, that they valued him, but most important, that God loved him.

Some years ago, there was a priest in New York City named Father Joe. Father Joe entered the priesthood after pursuing several colorful careers. He was a soldier in Vietnam, a professional football player, and a singer in a band that never took off. In his midthirties, he decided to go to seminary and train to be a priest. When he was ordained, he was assigned to a parish in South Bronx.

One day, he got into an argument with a cabdriver who had parked in front of the church. One thing led to another, and suddenly Father Joe forgot the thin veneer of his new profession and grabbed the cabbie, pinning him against a fence. The cabbie reached for his knife, but fortunately other people stepped in and broke it up before anyone got hurt. Father Joe was mortified at what he had done and how he had acted. He knew that this was no way for a priest to behave. He was so ashamed, cut to the heart. It was terrible. A few minutes later he had to say Mass with that ugliness, that hate, that anger rising in him. It hurt to pray. He was confused and embarrassed. What does love your neighbor mean? he wondered. He looked up at the cross and knew he had failed. He had not loved his enemy. He had wanted to fight. Father Joe wondered if he was worthy to be a priest.

While he was grappling with his soul, Father Joe had a visitor. Jasmine was her name. Jasmine was a little girl who came by the church every morning to get a glass of milk. Little Jasmine knew nothing of what had happened, but she gave Father Joe something that morning that brought him out of his spiritual crisis. It was a note scribbled with a first-grader's pencil. It read, "Dear Father Joe ... I love you once, I love you twice, I love you more than beans and rice." That's all, but it was just what Father Joe needed. He read her poem and smiled and understood the larger message, too. Jasmine had reminded him of what's really important. She was an angel that day (a messenger from God). Jasmine reminded him that we are loved and accepted as we are. With all our weaknesses and foibles, God loves us and accepts us just as we are.

That is the message of the Christian faith. Even though we sin, even though we fail, even though we aren't perfect, God doesn't desert us, God doesn't forsake us, and God doesn't give up on us. God still loves us and accepts us, and in so doing, God gives us, by the miracle of his amazing grace, a self we can live with.

Second, Christ's Healing Love Gives Us a Faith We Can Live By

In the fall semester of 1997, two male sophomore students at Duke University were taking Organic Chemistry. They both had done very well on all the quizzes, the midterm exam, and the lab assignments, and both had a solid A going into the final exam. The two friends were so confident about taking the final that instead of studying, they partied the weekend before the final exam, which was scheduled for 8:00 A.M. on Monday. However, they partied so much that they overslept Monday morning and missed their exam.

They went to the professor to explain, and they made up quite a story. They told him that they were out of town for the weekend and planned to come back in plenty of time to study, but they had had a flat tire on the way back and did not have a spare tire. They were stranded on the highway and only just now got back to campus; could they take the final exam at another time? The professor thought this over for a moment and then agreed to let them take the final exam at 8:00 the next morning. The two guys were elated, and they studied organic chemistry all night long.

The next morning, the professor placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet and told them to begin. On the first page was written: "Question One (value 5 points): Describe and give a specific illustration of free radical formation."

"Great," they thought, "we know this. This is going to be easy." Each completed that problem and turned to the next page. They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on the page. It said: "Question Two (value 95 points): WHICH TIRE?" (Homiletics [July 1998]: 24-25).

They had been caught—"done in." They were brought down by their high-sounding but false words. Like a boomerang, their lie came back to haunt them. There's a lesson there somewhere, and I think it is this: Christianity is not just a creed we profess; it is a lifestyle we live. It's not enough to say the words. We must live our faith in the day-to-day world. One of the things that is so beautiful in this story in Acts 3 is that we see Peter and John living their faith out in the world and sharing their faith with this man in need, giving to him the love of Jesus and the healing that only Christ can bring.

The great artist Rembrandt did a fascinating thing in one of his paintings. Instead of painting a halo over the head of Jesus in one work of art, he painted a halo around his hands. Not over his head, but around his hands! Why? Over the years, art critics have debated why Rembrandt did this. It seems to me that he was reminding us of all the ways Christ used his hands to do his ministry. With his holy and sacred hands, he healed the sick, fed the hungry, blessed the children, and raised the dead. With his hands, he showed us how to live faith and how to put our faith to work. With the sacred touch of his hands, he gives us a self we can live with and a faith we can live by.

Third and Finally, Christ's Healing Love Gives Us a Love We Can Live Out

A little boy in his Sunday school class was asked this question: "Johnny, what do you think the Bible is trying to teach us?" I love Johnny's answer. He said, "The Bible is telling us to love God and to love people 365 days each year, and to be sure not to take too many days off."

In Keith Miller's book A Second Touch ([Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1967], 63-64), there is a story about a busy executive living in an eastern city, who was rushing to catch a train. He had been so caught up in the pressures and hassles and stresses of the business world that he was worn to a frazzle. There were so many demands, so many deadlines. So this day, he rebelled. On this particular morning, he decided really to try to be a Christian instead of just talking about it. This day, no matter what, he was going to live in the spirit of Jesus Christ's love.

Just as he was boarding the train, he accidentally bumped into a little boy who was carrying a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces scattered everywhere. Normally, the man would have jumped on the train and rushed to the office without offering to help the boy, but he remembered his decision to live in the spirit of Christ's love. So he stopped and helped the boy pick up the puzzle pieces. The train started to pull out slowly.

The little boy watched him closely, realizing the sacrifice the man had made and realizing the man had missed his train in order to help. When all the puzzle pieces were found and safely back in the box, the little boy said, "Mister, are you Jesus?"

That's probably what that man at the Temple wanted to ask Peter that day: "Hey, Mister, are you Jesus?"

Now, let me ask you something. Has anyone ever seen the love of Jesus that powerfully in you? My prayer is that God, through the power of the risen Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, will enable us to live each day in such a way that when we come to the end of our days on this earth, we will be remembered as persons, who by the healing love of Christ, had a self we could live with, a faith we could live by, and a love we could live out.

CHAPTER 2

Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Celebrated the Joy of the Journey?

Scripture: Deuteronomy 34:1-8

Some years ago, Robert J. Hastings wrote a classic essay called "The Station." In it, he shows us that it is not enough to long for a happy ending somewhere in the distant future, but rather, he reminds us that there is great joy in the journey through life. In powerful and colorful words, Hastings invites us to imagine that our life is like a long, long trip on a passenger train. There is beautiful scenery to see and savor, fascinating people to meet and appreciate. But instead we give our energy to focusing on our final destination. We can't enjoy the trip because we can't wait to make it to the station. Restless, impatient, we pace the aisles and count the minutes and resent the waste of time it takes to make the journey. We long to hurry and make it to the station. All this traveling is so much drudgery. When we finally reach the station, real life will begin.

Hastings translates that to mean that real life will begin when I get that new car, when I finish putting my kids through college, when I get that new job, or when I reach retirement. Then I can really live.

Hastings points out that it doesn't work that way. When we arrive at that destination, we don't find the fulfillment we had so longed for and wanted. Then Hastings says this: "The true joy of life is in the journey! So relish the moment!"

He urges us to stop counting the miles and pacing the aisles and instead to begin seeing each day as a precious gift from God. Rejoice in it and be thankful for it. Celebrate life and see the miracles of God all around us. Live life to the full as we go along. The station will come soon enough.

Is Robert J. Hastings right? What do you think? Is it possible that we get so caught up in our dream of a "happy ending" that we miss the joy of the journey? Could it be that we sometimes look so intently for some "promised land" tucked away in the distant future that we become amazingly blind to what we already have at our fingertips? Let's think about this together for a few moments. Very simply, I want to lay a few ideas before you. Here is idea number one.

First, the Truth Is That We All Have Known Some Disappointment, Some Frustration, Some Uncompleted Task, Some Unhappy Ending

All of us have known the experience of wanting some promised land and yet never quite getting there. Let me show you what I mean.

Remember Abraham Lincoln. He led the nation through terrible conflict. He brought the American Civil War to an end. He was ready to lead our nation in peace, "with malice toward none and charity for all." But it did not turn out that way. He went to Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. one night and was assassinated. So quickly, so harshly, so abruptly, so tragically, it was over for him. He was so near the promised land, but he only "glimpsed it from afar."

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from At The End of The Day by JAMES W. MOORE. Copyright © 2002 Dimensions for Living. Excerpted by permission of Dimensions for Living.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction: At the End of the Day,
1. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew Christ's Healing Love?,
2. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Celebrated the Joy of the Journey?,
3. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew the Gift of the Holy Spirit?,
4. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew How to Trust the Right Things?,
5. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew the Power of Compassion?,
6. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew How to Teach Children the Key Things in Life?,
7. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew the Importance of Prayer?,
8. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew Right from Wrong?,
9. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew the Significance of the Battle Within?,
10. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew the Power of Words?,
11. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew "That Great Gettin' Up Mornin'"?,
12. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew How to Be Beautifully Extravagant?,
13. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew How to Be a Real Friend?,
14. Will You Be Remembered ... As One Who Knew How to Close the Gate?,
Epilogue: Making Every Day Count!,
Study Guide (John D. Schroeder),