IN A HUNDRED YEARS!

For years this has been my motto....in a hundred years, what will it matter? In a hundred years, who is going to care? Mostly, I thought this whenever I really didn’t want to do something or whenever I was concerned about what someone might think about me. For some reason, the Lord keeps directing me to the book of Ecclesiastes. Most scholars believe that this book was written by King Solomon. If you remember, King Solomon was the wisest person to ever live. God gave him wisdom (beyond measure) and a peaceful reign to pursue that wisdom. In this book, King Solomon is reflecting back over his life and all of his accomplishments and he concludes that everything man does is useless. He concludes that we chase after this and chase after that, but when we die, all of our toiling is for naught. Now, how depressing can that be?

King Solomon ends the book with the conclusion that man is nothing and everything we do is for nothing. “Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.” Eccl 5:15 (NIV) King Solomon realizes and so should we that the only treasures that matter is those that we lay up in heaven and those eternal treasures that we leave behind while we are here on earth. The eternal treasures would be spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and being obedient and following what God is telling you to do. If you are a Christian, God has a job for you to do and it’s not to sit in the pew Sunday, listen to the preacher, go out for lunch and then take a nap. The job that God has for you to do has eternal consequences!

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:11-12 (NIV). When we are obedient and work for the Lord we will find peace. Words that we speak for the Lord from scripture will never return to Him empty and our toiling for Him will never be in vain. King Solomon, the wisest person that ever lived, is telling us that when we work for ourselves and think of ourselves only that work is and always will be in vain.

“There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.” Eccl 1:11 (NIV). Take a closer look at your life today, this moment in time....what are you toiling for? Are you toiling for yourself? Or, are you toiling for the Lord? Are you toiling for something that will not be remembered in a hundred years or for something that will reap eternal benefits? So many people today are very concerned what people think about them, but isn’t it better to be concerned with what God thinks? “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matt 10:28 (NIV).

This life is hard enough, we all have to toil but we need to keep it in perspective. When you were saved, you became an ambassador for Christ; you were given a new job to work at. That is the only job that will leave behind your hundred year legacy and that is the only job that will have everlasting consequences.


Dear Father,
Thank you Lord for this life that you have given to me. Lord, I know that I have not lived it very wisely and especially not as an ambassador for You! Father, I am praying to You on behalf of all who read this, that You will keep each of us focused on the job that You have for us to do and not what we think that we have to do. Lord, it doesn’t matter how rich or poor or well-known that we are....in a hundred years it won’t matter.....in a hundred years we will all be forgotten by humankind! Lord, I pray that each person reading this realizes that it is all about You and Your precious Son Jesus....the only work that matters, is the work that we do for You while You graciously grant us life to do it with. I pray this in the name of Jesus....AMEN


@copyright 2010 LVC Ministries, Inc