Through the ages, many men and women have struggled to make their marks on the world.  Yet, no matter what they have done, there is no mark of man in the world that time does not erode or even erase.  Consider Ecclesiastes 6.  Even those who have succeeded in great accomplishments are often forgotten by the world, although their accomplishments remain.  The earth bears witness that many great people have been here before us, yet we do not know who most of them were.

Let us consider ourselves in this respect. Would we expect to achieve greater things in the world than did the great leaders, inventors, artists, writers, and explorers of the past who have mostly been forgotten?  Even if we do have such ambitions, they are unlikely to be realized.  So then, do we expect to be remembered by the world when we are gone?  In a hundred years, how many people will remember you or me?

These thoughts are sobering.  Yet, there is one who remembers - our God who is in heaven.  For every soul who has ever lived on the earth, God remembers him.  Not one man, woman, or child will be forgotten by our God.

How then do we want to be remembered by God?  In the Judgment, God (i.e., Christ the Judge) will recall the deeds of each person done in his life (2 Cor. 5:10).  Being that God is absolutely holy and cannot tolerate sin, those who are remembered as sinners will be dismissed from His presence (Matt. 7:23).  However, God is able to selectively forget the sins of those who are in Christ (Jer. 31 :34, "...their sin I will remember no more.").  Therefore, we should seek to be remembered by God as faithful Christians so that He might forget and forgive our sins.

With these things in mind, consider that which should be the focus of our lives.  Shall we seek to please men or to please God?  The answer is obvious.  It is far better to be remembered by the infinite Creator of the universe for being a quiet, humble, and submissive soul (Jas. 4:7-10) than to obtain all of the glory of the world and be forgotten by the world.

Why then do some struggle so much for the approval of men to the detriment of their relationship with God?  When Jesus preached to the multitudes, it is said that many even of the rulers believed in Him but would not confess Him because they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God (John 12:37-43).  That pattern of misplaced values continues today for those who are carnal and love the world (1 John 2:15- 17).

John says it well: "And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:17) Even if one is remembered by the world, what is the reward?  The world is passing away, but God is eternal.  Will there be any comfort for those who gain fame in the world by ungodly means but are lost for eternity?

The way for us to ensure that God will remember us as His own for eternity is for us to remember Him as our Lord now.  Jesus stated it clearly: "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 10:32)  What will be your legacy?