“For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten. Like the fool, the wise too must die!” — Ecclesiastes 2:16
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
A few months ago I was talking to a young friend who is in his mid-20s. He is an avid sports fan who also played high school sports. I mentioned that Gale Sayers had just died, and he responded “Who?!”
I was totally surprised that he had never heard of one of the greatest running backs of all time. I immediately showed him YouTube highlights of this Hall of Fame football player. Jim Otto, Jerry Lucas and Juan Marichal are other legendary names that most young sports fans would not recognize. Yet, all three are Hall of Fame athletes in their respective sports.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 states, “Generations come and generations go.” Great athletes are normally forgotten within two generations (40-60 years). There is no promise that even great men or women of faith will be remembered. James 4:14 reminds us that we are like a “mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
Even though the world may not remember us, our Heavenly Father will never forget us. We should find great comfort in this truth. According to Psalm 145:4 — “One generation commends Your works to another; they tell of Your mighty acts” — it is clear the one legacy we want to leave behind is that we helped people remember the Lord.
Telling the next generation about the God of the Bible is a matter of life and death, and ultimately about Heaven and hell.
— Sam Johnson, San Antonio Spurs chaplain
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