Leaving Marks...
Hebrews 11:5
“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”2 Chronicles 21:20
“He was thirty-two years old when he became king; and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However, they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.”Acts 9:39
“Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.”
When Enoch was caught up, there was obviously a search for him. We read: “For before he was taken, he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Heb. 11:5). So his fellow human beings had noticed that he was suddenly gone.
What at first sounds banal and obvious has a spiritual meaning for us: do we leave footprints in our lives? Would our fellow human beings—whether believers or unbelievers—notice it clearly if the Lord suddenly took us away? How would our lives be remembered? [1]
Scripture gives us two interesting examples.
- Negative example: Jehoram
“He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. So Jehoram rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son reigned in his place” (2 Chr. 21:20).
This godless king, about whom the ScripturesIn the NT, the various parts of the OT are referred to as “the Scriptures”; these are the “sacred letters/writings” (2 Tim. 3:15). “Every Scripture is divinely inspired and profitable... More do not say a single positive word, but instead mention his many sins and selfish deeds, left no footprints. His life was so empty (for God, but also for his fellow human beings) that no one mourned him; he was not even given a dignified burial. Nobody missed him. - Positive example: Dorcas
“And when he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping and showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them” (Acts 9:39).
When Dorcas died, those around her mourned for her. They felt the void she left behind. It became clear what she had done in the lives of each and every one of her fellow human beings. They all had legacies of Dorcas, so to speak. She did not appear as a great missionary, the recipient of tremendous answers to prayer, or the protagonist of a biography. She faithfully carried out her (seemingly) small ministry, which was actually bigger than one would have expected.
Let's put these two Bible passages on our hearts: What traces do we leave behind? Do we leave any traces at all? If the Lord suddenly took you/me away, would the empty space in the church room be the only difference? Or could “tunics and garments” also be shown—fruit in the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters? Are we rather like Jehoram or Dorcas?
______________
Footnote:
[1] Of course, it is not about making a name for ourselves, but about having left footprints in connection with the Lord.
