Your Life
Ben Zion Bokser
The man sweeping the synagogue paused for a moment. He looked at the flowers lying about in disorder, ‘What waste!’ He said too himself. Those roses had adorned the pulpit at a wedding an hour before. Now all was over and they were waiting to be discarded.
The attendant leaning on his sweeper was lost in thought when suddenly he heard a strange sound. One of the roses replied to him.
‘Do you call this a waste?” the flower protested, ‘What is life anyway, yours or mine, but a means of service? My mission was to create some fragrance and beauty, and when I have fulfilled it my life has not been wasted. And what greater privilege is there than to adorn a bride’s way to her beloved, what greater privilege than to help glorify the moment when a bride and groom seal their faith in each other by entering the covenant of marriage?’
Our little flower paused for a moment too watch the man’s face, and then continued her discourse.
‘Roses are like people. They live in deeds, not in time. My glory was but for a brief hour, but you should have seen the joy in the bride’s eye. I like to believe that I had something to do with it, by creating a suitable setting for the moment of her supreme happiness. So don’t grieve for me. My life has been worthwhile.
Having spoken her little piece, the rose was once more silent. The attendant, startled from his reverie and a little wiser, pushed the sweeper again and continued with his work.
Ben Zion Bokser
What will you be remembered for? Over the last few years sadly I’ve attended too many funerals.
Not so long ago I was at the funeral of a young man who’d died before his thirtieth birthday. To my wife and I this young man was respectful and pleasant to be around. He had an eight year old daughter and girlfriend that loved him.
By all accounts sadly he was an alcoholic who couldn’t give up the bottle. He was also I’m told a mean drunk frequently getting into fights.
It was a fight that ultimately killed him. He died as the result of a series of punches or kicks to the head that caused him to bleed into his brain.
In the end his father told me he was expecting a call telling him his son had died a violent death. That it was easy to see how his end would come.
Sadly along with being remembered as a good father he will be remembered as a person who when drunk used his fits.
By contrast that young mans aunt had died at age fifty-six a few years before. She too had fought with alcoholism for numerous years. She however did turn from the bottle and channelled her life into helping others.
To this day I have people come up to me and say what a nice person she was. She although living below the poverty line most of her life, was remembered for her love of God and for helping many, many people through her volunteer work.
No one ever had a bad word to say about her even before she died. She was that well liked.
So what will you be remembered for?
As Ben Zion Bokser wrote,
“‘Roses are like people. They live in deeds, not in time...”
What will your deeds reveal about you when you die?
What will God say about you?
Please think about it.
Ben Zion Bokser
The man sweeping the synagogue paused for a moment. He looked at the flowers lying about in disorder, ‘What waste!’ He said too himself. Those roses had adorned the pulpit at a wedding an hour before. Now all was over and they were waiting to be discarded.
The attendant leaning on his sweeper was lost in thought when suddenly he heard a strange sound. One of the roses replied to him.
‘Do you call this a waste?” the flower protested, ‘What is life anyway, yours or mine, but a means of service? My mission was to create some fragrance and beauty, and when I have fulfilled it my life has not been wasted. And what greater privilege is there than to adorn a bride’s way to her beloved, what greater privilege than to help glorify the moment when a bride and groom seal their faith in each other by entering the covenant of marriage?’
Our little flower paused for a moment too watch the man’s face, and then continued her discourse.
‘Roses are like people. They live in deeds, not in time. My glory was but for a brief hour, but you should have seen the joy in the bride’s eye. I like to believe that I had something to do with it, by creating a suitable setting for the moment of her supreme happiness. So don’t grieve for me. My life has been worthwhile.
Having spoken her little piece, the rose was once more silent. The attendant, startled from his reverie and a little wiser, pushed the sweeper again and continued with his work.
Ben Zion Bokser
What will you be remembered for? Over the last few years sadly I’ve attended too many funerals.
Not so long ago I was at the funeral of a young man who’d died before his thirtieth birthday. To my wife and I this young man was respectful and pleasant to be around. He had an eight year old daughter and girlfriend that loved him.
By all accounts sadly he was an alcoholic who couldn’t give up the bottle. He was also I’m told a mean drunk frequently getting into fights.
It was a fight that ultimately killed him. He died as the result of a series of punches or kicks to the head that caused him to bleed into his brain.
In the end his father told me he was expecting a call telling him his son had died a violent death. That it was easy to see how his end would come.
Sadly along with being remembered as a good father he will be remembered as a person who when drunk used his fits.
By contrast that young mans aunt had died at age fifty-six a few years before. She too had fought with alcoholism for numerous years. She however did turn from the bottle and channelled her life into helping others.
To this day I have people come up to me and say what a nice person she was. She although living below the poverty line most of her life, was remembered for her love of God and for helping many, many people through her volunteer work.
No one ever had a bad word to say about her even before she died. She was that well liked.
So what will you be remembered for?
As Ben Zion Bokser wrote,
“‘Roses are like people. They live in deeds, not in time...”
What will your deeds reveal about you when you die?
What will God say about you?
Please think about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment