What We Do

In the opening scenes of the film “Gladiator” Russell Crowe shouts these words “What we do in this life echoes in eternity!” to encourage his troops. Think about those words for a moment. What we do, what we say, how we act, how we feel and now let’s put the little word others with those phrases. What we do to others, what we say to others, how we act toward others and how we make others feel. What we do echoes into eternity.

Luke 16:19  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: There was a rich man that wore very expensive clothes and every day was like a party to him. This man enjoyed life and had the money to make it happen but like all mankind if you live then you must die.

Luke 16:22….. the rich man also died, and was buried; Well, what happened when this man died?

Luke 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments,…  What we do in life echoes in eternity; what do we see echoing? There is misery, pain and torment; but there is much more. The first thing I see is that he is still concerned about himself.

Luke 16:24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.  My, look at the personal pronouns! The second thing I see is his concern for his brothers.

Luke 16:27  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:

Luke 16:28  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Go tell my brothers for if you don’t they are coming to this place of torment. He wanted his brothers to know so they would stay out of this awful place; he would have told them himself but he didn’t listen when he was being told. It was easy not to listen when he had plenty. He could have had a thought like “all they want from me is my money.” Money is not the issue, God doesn’t need our money, matter of fact it is God’s anyways. We must be careful what we do in this life for it will echo.

Galatians 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. We must be careful what we sow; if we do like the rich man and sow to ourselves then we will reap to ourselves and it will be corruption. If we sow to the Spirit then we will reap life everlasting. As we leave the house this morning; as we pick up our bag of seeds what kind of seeds will be in our bag? Will the seeds be those that will make things better for us or will they be seeds that will help and encourage others. Will our words be kind or hateful, will we be patient or impatient, will we be bossy and want everything our way or will we be considerate to the concerns and feeling of others? Will we pray and ask God to help us be more like Him and to do our best to view others the way He would. Or will we be just concerned about and for our own selves? Stop and think for “What we do in this life echoes in eternity!”