We're Just Dying to Be Known....

What do you want to be known for?  No, really, what do you want people to say about you?  What do you want your reputation to be?  Is it to be known as a nice person?  Funny?  Beautiful?  Wealthy?  Smart?  If you had your way, what would people call you once you leave this planet?

I think I've found my title, my epitaph that I want to have said of me.

It comes from the book of Joshua, in chapter 24, verse 29:

"29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten."

I know, I know, it's in the Bible, so of course they are going to call Joshua "the servant of the Lord".  But wait a minute.  Joshua was a lot of things.  He was an incredibly brave man.  This is the guy who went into enemy land as a spy, met giants, and came home saying they could conquer them.  This is the guy who was "vice president" under Moses' leadership.  This is the man who was a brilliant military strategist; he took down one of the best fortified cities in history, with a week's worth of parades and a big band concert.  This is the leader who organized hundreds of thousands of former slaves into a terrifying fighting machine.  This is the man who lead a nation to victory and peace, at a time where peace was impossible to find.  Joshua was a brilliant, brave, fearless, tactical, stud.

But when it was all said and done, those words weren't adequate to describe him.  They could have been, and probably should have been.  But above those things, he was known for something else.  He was the servant of the Lord.  His life, in victory after victory, and in struggle after struggle, mirrored God.  His faith defined him to everyone who knew him.


All of the other praises and accolades would have been true.  He was all of those things.  But he was more servant to God than any other single thing.  


That is what I want to be known as when it's all over.  Whatever God may accomplish through my life, I want it all to come down to being known as His servant.  That begins for you and I today.  Joshua formed that persona early on in life.  He was faithful when barely anyone else was.  He was committed to God when others wanted to quit.  He stayed and prayed when others were asleep.  He listened and learned when others were pursuing their own dreams.  You and I can have that same epitaph, but it doesn't come at death.  It comes today.  Run after God today.  Pursue Him with all you are.  Be a servant today, and the rest will follow.


I really hope it will be said of both of us, "a servant of God".  For His sake.  He's worth it.