"Every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. Every now and then I ask myself, 'What is it that I want said?' I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King Jr. Tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try to feed the hungry. And I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
What will be said about us, at our funerals?...That we always found the best sales at stores and wore the trendiest clothes? That we attended the hippest parties, went on great vacations and sported the newest electronic gadgets?...
Or that we used the gifts God blessed us with to reach out to the needy, to the impoverished, to those who were suffering? That we were those that kept our eyes fixed on Jesus and because God blessed us with a yoke that was light, helped lighten the burden of others?
Will our life's message be one that centered around ourselves, or centered around God and serving others?
During Jesus' life, he walked on the earth among the most marginalized, bringing hope, compassion and love. Let it be the same for all God's children :)
Heavenly Father,
We thank You for all the material and spiritual blessings You have blessed us with. For our warm homes, for those in our lives that we love and who love us back. Help us reach out into the world, even in the darkest places, to those that others find difficult to love. To those who have been wounded, to those who live without hope. And let us shine Your light of love and bring Your message of mercy and grace to them. May we see Christ in the eyes of the lonely, the eyes of the poor, the eyes of the suffering and may they recognize You in our eyes and in the midst of that, may hope blossom.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now, and will be forever.
Amen.
