The Dash

Right across the street from my office is the Spring Creek cemetery. There are graves there dating back to the 1800's. Whether old or new, most graves give the date a person was born and the day they departed for eternity. Sometimes in-between those dates is a dash. The dash is most important.

We celebrate when a baby is born and cry later when the baby grows old and dies. The dash is important because that represents what a person did with their gift of life. If they invested it as a good steward in eternity or squandered it away on foolish selfish living.

If you are reading this, you are still living out your dash. Still writing the pages of your history. What will God say when you come to the end of your life and stand before Him? What kind of life will you offer Him. Make not mistake, you don't barter your way into Heaven based on your good works. You only gain entrance into Heaven by previously having put your faith in Jesus for salvation by faith.

 I am thinking of the judgment every believer will endure with the quality of life we lived. All our works will be tested by fire. What an eye opening day that will be. Some who appeared very successful outwardly will be exposed as frauds. They may still be saved but barely make it into Heaven. Others who appeared as nothing will come out with God's praise, "Well done good and faithful servant."

How you live your life matters. What you do with your days matters in eternity. If you waste your life on compromised convictions and half hearted devotion, it will be revealed that day. Whatever you squeeze into that dash will be revealed. What will God say of your dash? It is not too late to amend your ways and repent of sin.

We only have one shot at this thing called life. The things that will stand the test of God's refining fire are often not the things the world prioritizes. The things the world emphasizes will burn up. We will shamed to see how much of life we wasted on achieving and earning nothing. May that not be the case in your life.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NASB)
¹⁰  According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.
¹¹  For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
¹²  Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
¹³  each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.
¹⁴  If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
¹⁵  If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.