March 2nd 2008

What Does Your Obituary Say?

By Charles Bishop

 

Swedish chemist Alfred Bernhard Nobel invented the process to make dynamite. This process in part brought about his financial success. This brilliant scientist and thinker enabled the 19th century and following generations to literally move mountains with his explosives.

 

Unfortunately, something used in mining and other various processes was also used for making war. Interestingly, his legacy is the Nobel Prize rather than the destruction caused by war. This came about because a newspaper inadvertently ran his obituary by mistake. His brother Ludvig died while staying in Cannes, France. Mistaking identities, the newspaper ran this headline in error: The Merchant of Death is Dead!

 

Reading his own obituary unnerved Nobel. He didn’t want to be remembered as one who caused death. This untimely obituary did more than anything else to cause him to use his wealth to reward peace makers and innovators.

 

Have you ever paused to ask the question, “What will others say of me when I die?”  This might be a good exercise for a family to do. Maybe a classroom of students could write obituaries for one another. The ultimate obituary is when we stand in the presence of our Lord as He asks, “What have you accomplished?”





February 10th 2008

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our mission, as a community of believers, is to celebrate our salvation in Jesus Christ, strengthen our families, and expand the kingdom by reflecting God’s love through ministry and teaching.