Abba, Father, I …

This is part two of the everlasting fame post. See part one here.

In the last post we said that humans  seek not just fame, but everlasting fame. And many people work at it with all of their might. But we also saw how those people who have become super famous in their lifetimes and soon after, are hardly a memory in most people’s mind just 500 years down the line.

Gone in 1000 years

It is true that there are some great people we still hear about 1000s of years later. But the audience they receive is limited to only certain specialty groups. For example, philosophers remember Plato and Socrates. Military students study Alexander the Great. Historians know one or two things about Pharaoh Tutankhamen.

By contrast, those people who did things requested of them by the Lord God, have everlasting memorial in the minds of people who identify themselves with Christianity. And this memorial is refreshed every new generation, as their “good” and “bad” deeds are used as lessons in life matters.

Zero fame now, infinite fame later

The reason for this is because of the types of reward system that are in operation on this earth.

Now or later.

To fully understand this, consider the person who discovered penicillin ( or antibiotics ) . If you are not a “student” of medicine or biology, you probably have no idea who he was. Or consider the person who first discovered the use of anesthesia. Who was he?  ( Psst: I heard that in it’s early forms as chloroform, it was denounced by some church people. They said it was an evil invention, because, they said, it denied people the chance to suffer through pain. And that it prevented their cries of pain  from being heard by God!   ).

These two discoveries have made life on the 3rd rock palatable to most people. Imagine our current world with no  antibiotics!

Should we feel bad that we are ungrateful by not knowing  these people yet we enjoy their labors? No. They have been rewarded already. Their reward is now. They gave the lad from Scotland a Nobel prize and Knighted him. Last time i got some antibiotics, i paid for it. Any time a person has surgery he pays dearly for all the anesthesia and other medical wonders he receives.

On the other hand, if you do an act for the Lord, it is He who will reward you, later. He will reward you, that is, if you do not seek to be rewarded  ( or honored ) by fellow mortals now.

The Lord owes you, your reward is pending, stretched out, to everlasting. As long as the earth endures, the Lord makes sure you are in people’s memory, as a remind that you are owed for your acts. And when finally the earth folds over, then you get your reward, and people are then free to “forget” your acts.

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. ( 2 Timothy 4:8 NIV)

I am almost certain that in the new world, most people will seek out Paul of Tarsus or Enoch of Genesis, but not Sir Alexander Fleming of Scotland.

Does that mean you do not get some reward now? No. You do get a certain percentage, but the best portion is banked for you for later:

I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel ³⁰will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. ( Mark 10:29-30 NIV)

Me? Seek fame? No!

You certainly have noticed how “men” of God and people in the “ministry” introduce themselves or like to be introduced by others?  Sample this:

• “Best selling author..”
• “Senior pastor of largest church..”
• “Founded 100s of  churches”
• “My ministry gave millions of dollars to those..”
• “Has syndicated shows on..”

You think this is not a problem? Why?

Hear how the truly mighty men of God introduces themselves:

• “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus..”
• “I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵so no one can say that you were baptized into my name.”
• “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,”, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ”
• “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,”
• “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,”
• “¹Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ”
• “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,”

Assuming your heart has deceived you about your motives for what you do or that you seek nothing for yourself, here is a guide that can help you shame your heart out:

If you crave applause and admiration or long to hear things such as:

• “That was a nice message you shared with us!” or
• “Great execution!” or
• “Your book changed my life”

Or if you glow and inwardly smile when you hear such praise, your heart my be playing games with you. Call him out on it in the open!

Otherwise, you got your pay. And that is that. There is nothing more to expect for that great did of yours. You have denied yourself the everlasting reward and fame.

Avoiding fame

So, while those acknowledgments are good sounds to hear and are sought after commodities, for the sake of your future reward, reject them.

Answer every such potential reward with the mindset:

• “That was the Spirit speaking, not me. Praise Him instead.” and
• “Those words? It was not me. The Lord came up with those words”  or
• “The book!  Meh, those words came straight out of the bible. I just copied and pasted”
• “Me, a great motivational speaker? Nah. I am just a loud speaker”

If you can humbly and honestly respond thus and truly mean them, eh, you are in safe hands, go on and do whatsoever it is that you are doing for the Lord.

But how many of us can truly do that?

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day