Devotionals

Called to be Faithful

by Lorraine Taylor
09/16/20
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Life is not so much about what we 'do' or what 'title' or position we may hold or not hold. Life is not about boasting of accomplishments, listing spiritual accolades, or acquiring a long list of what the world would deem as 'successful' endeavors.

Success is often measured by what one does or accomplishes in life and whether they have obtained the 'things’ deemed as defining a successful person.

Many times persons are viewed successful if they have completed a higher educational degree, having a respectable career, obtaining a good house in a good neighborhood, and seen in high standing socially and having obtained worldly possessions.

I view life as a sacred gift to be treasured and when I consider ‘success’, I reflect on how can I be a human being who is about authenticity, truthfulness, and faith.

In the sharing of this precious 'life' and in touching another person on the inside, I want others to sense the reality of my caring, compassion, kindness, and love.

Life is not measured in what I 'do', but in who I am and who I am becoming on the inside and how I can show these traits in relationships with others.

When I display attributes such as respecting, honoring, and valuing another; regardless of their earthly status, position, or 'title', I am being successful in stewarding this gift of life.

We cannot take the accumulated 'things' or possessions with us when we pass from this earthly life to our heavenly life. All that we will carry with us and all that will remain will be remnants of who we had become when we leave this earth.

My accomplishments will return to dust and what remains will be the fragrance or sense of who I am and what sort of impressions I leave as permeable ones upon a heart, a soul and another's life.

All that I will leave behind when I am called to my eternal home are the memories in others of the sort of person I conveyed, showed, and demonstrated.

People will remember if I noticed them and if I stopped to let them know I care and if I showed kindness and if I embraced them in compassionate love. People will remember if I was honorable with my word and if I showed the integrity of character.

What remnant will you leave as permanent impressions etched upon someone's heart and how will the fact you have lived have made a difference to another when you pass from life to death?

Mother Teresa once said: "We are called to be faithful, not successful."

Perhaps in these times and this season of uncertainty, we can rise to the measure of being the good stewards of this gift of life we have been given.

Perhaps it is now time to devote ourselves to a higher standard of conduct in manifesting the inward godly traits necessary to fostering and cultivating nearer relationships with another.

Maybe it is now time to reevaluate how we are to live our lives in our neighborhoods, in our towns, in our churches, and our interconnection with the wider community. 

The sanctity of life and the opportunities we are afforded to discover what God desires of us cannot be measured in the things we do, but rather in who we are becoming. 

And when life returns to the flow of moving again, we can remember the importance and the value of our bonded and shared vulnerability as the manifestation of God's expressed desires displayed to others through our humanity.