The Dash
Back on December 22, 2018, at my friend Buddy Neubauer's memorial service, this poem was given to each person, and since I had not worn that suit very often, I found it in my coat pocket. It began in this way;
I read of a man who stood to speak at a funeral. He referred to the date on the tombstone from the beginning … to the end.
He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke of the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.
The dash represents all the time they spent alive on earth, and how only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not how much we own, the cars… the house… the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that still can be rearranged.
To be less quick to anger and show appreciation more, and love the people in our lives as we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile… remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read, with your life’s actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you lived your dash?
Author Linda Ellis
My life was richer in knowing Buddy since Junior High school, and still good friends with his bride, Debbie.
The Dash without Jesus
But it is the poem that has got my full attention, the Dash. This thought came into my mind it from the Scripture a quote from Jesus; “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26) The poem ask that question, What does it matter, what you are worth, or what you have, it all left behind. But an eternity without Jesus is not a good choice; in fact, it is just plain stupid. Being a kind and nice person will not earn you heaven, nor being religious; it requires a personal relationship with Jesus. I believe Romans 10:9-10 gives you and me the way to have such a relationship. “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
One night many years ago in Victoria, Texas, in a motel room about 10 pm, as I put the key in the door, I heard this voice in my mind, “This is the last night my Spirit is going to deal with you. I've been trying to make a deal with God for about 5 months, and it was like talking to a wall. But that night, it was not about a deal; it was very clear, God was giving me an ultimatum. I could not get to the hotel Bible fast enough, and it opened to Romans 10, and my eyes went to verses 9-10. As I read that I knew it was true, I also knew I was a sinner, and I told the Lord, I have not one thing to offer you, but You have everything I need. And by an act of faith that God gave me, I ask Him into my life. He changed my dash that night. It took a lot of unlearning how to get my needs met outside of Jesus. It was not a quick lesson, I’m still learning, but this I know, my Father in Heaven is the God who spoke the world into being, and formed man out of the dust of the earth.
But, there is much that is beyond my limited understanding, God's love is one of them. Why, before He spoke the world into being, He knew that He would have to send Jesus to buy me and you out of the control of sin. This I know without doubt, He did, and God gave us the ability to choose or not choose the gift of His Son. I sure hope you chose Jesus. In Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” What he/she has done with Jesus.
At the memorial service, it's nice that people will say he/she was a good person, but that's not what's important; does God call you His son/daughter? One of the saddest verses in the Bible is found in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
Let me share one more thing that Jesus said, it recorded in John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Many believe that being moral and good to others is all you need; others try to do good religious acts, but they will be the ones verse 23 is referring to.
The best quote I ever heard to explain the difference between religions and a personal relationship with Christ is: Religion is about doing, and a relationship with Christ is about being done. Jesus did it all on the Cross, and He said it is finished. So, we are told to choose this day, whom we will serve, or what will you give in exchange for your soul?
From our Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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