Definitions
“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now
I know in part but then I shall know even as I am known.”
Just as you can find definitions for thousands upon thousands of words in a dictionary, you can also look up people’s names to discover what defined their lives. Here are a few examples to show you what is out there:
· Abraham Lincoln – The 16th President of the United States who successfully led his country through its greatest crisis, the Civil War, only to be assassinated less than a month after the war’s end.
· Howard Hughes – A brilliant aviator, inventor and industrialist who became one of the wealthiest people in the world but who was better known at the end of his life for eccentric behavior, bouts with OCD, and reclusiveness.
· Mother Theresa – An Albanian Roman Catholic nun who for over 40 years ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned and dying throughout India becoming known internationally as an advocate for the poor and helpless.
· Benedict Arnold – A general for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War before switching sides to the British, a man whose name has now become a byword for betrayal and treason.
· William Booth – A British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army,a Christian ministry known throughout the world for being one of the largest distributors of humanitarian aid.
· Hetty Green - A woman known as “America’s Greatest Miser” who when she died in 1916 left an estate valued at over $100 million, but who, despite her almost limitless wealth, chose to live as a pauper.
The list goes on, men and women, defined by their accomplishments, by what had a hold on their lives, by attitudes and behavior, by sacrifices and choices made. And so the question has to be asked: What are we allowing to define our lives? Will it be our jobs, the people we associate with, maybe an overriding attitude, whether good or bad, or choices that define who we are to the people around us. Or will it be about our family, our God, or our relationship to Him and service for Him? Let’s make sure our lives are being defined in a meaningful, lasting way.
God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church
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