In The End

James 4:14b "For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

Writer Og Mandino put it this way: "Beginning today," he said, "treat everyone you meet as if he or she were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do so with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again."

James said life is uncertain, unsure, and without guarantee. The old saying, "Here today, gone tomorrow", could apply to you and me as much as anyone else. So while we are here, regardless of our age, we must make an impression on those around us and those that we love. We only get one shot at this so here is some advise that I hope will help today extend your gospel heritage to those you love and those you have a sphere of influence over.

-Don't get so caught up in your career that you let the people that matter the most slip through your fingers.

Ephesians 6:4 "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it..."

-Don't use people just to get what you want, then throw them away. Be a restorer of dreams and not a destroyer.

Galatians 6:1, 2 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

-Nothing is more important than your friends and family. No position is worth compromise of your integrity, conscience, or spiritual life that has a direct influence on those in your home or community.

John 15:3 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

-In the end, only your relationships will matter. Tend them well. Extend your heritage to the greatest length possible.
Isaiah 54:17 "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord."