Beautiful memories?

The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. Proverbs 10:7

Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. Psalm 112:6

Have you ever thought that there are things about you today which you owe to someone who has been dead for ten, twenty, perhaps even fifty or more years? Someone said something to you that has stuck in your mind ever since. You saw someone do something – something kind, something brave – and you have never forgotten it. You are a different, a better, person today from what you otherwise would have been – all because of that person.

This doesn’t apply only to individual acts or words of truth and goodness; it also applies to the whole character of that other person, what you might describe as the flavour of their life. When you think of them, what hits you is an overwhelming impression simply of a good person. Over the years, though you may not realise that you have been doing it, you have in fact subconsciously been modelling yourself on them.

“The memory of the righteous will be a blessing”, says Proverbs 10:7. Yes; that pretty well sums this up. It’s a striking and perhaps even a slightly frightening thought that our lives, whether we like it or not, can leave a powerful legacy for future generations.

“By faith he still speaks, though he is dead” says the writer to the Hebrews (11:4) about – guess who? – Abel. It’s hard to think of a person more remote in time than that!

And let’s remember what Jesus said about the woman who extravagantly poured perfume over him at the meal-table: “Why do you bother her? She has done a beautiful thing to me… I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her” (Matthew 26:6-13). That prophecy of Jesus is coming true for the millionth time today, even as I write these words and as you read them.

All this raises a very obvious question… What sort of legacy am I leaving? How will I be remembered, if indeed I am remembered at all?

Perhaps you teach a Sunday School class. Have you ever reflected that that little group of children that you meet with for half an hour on a Sunday morning will be soaking up not only your words but also your manner and personality – what I might call the essential “you-ness” of you? Perhaps you run across a neighbour on a regular basis. You don’t really know them personally, but you greet them and try to be a Christlike presence in their lives. Who knows what impact that might have?

I’m sure it goes without saying that we don’t aim to act and speak and live well because we want to be remembered in this way. No: we act and speak and live well because it is simply right to do so – ultimately out of love for God. But the fact that we may – no, that we will - be remembered can be a powerful incentive. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

As often in Proverbs the second line of the verse turns everything round: “The memory of the righteous will be a blessing…” that’s the good news, but then, “the name (that is, the reputation, the memory) of the wicked will rot”. Well, that’s blunt enough.

But it needs to be said, for these things work both ways. If we all remember good, Christlike things from early days, how much more do we remember with a frown and a shake of the head cruelty, spite, jealousy - oh, just take your pick from Paul’s ugly list of the “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). If you’re anything like me you will probably shudder to think of some of these things you could be remembered for. Lord, have mercy!

The Message translation of Proverbs 10:7 puts the whole verse like this: “”A good and honest life is a blessed memorial; a wicked life leaves a rotten stench”.

Perhaps it’s time to stop, close our eyes and ask ourselves the question: Yes, what kind of person am I? How will I be remembered? Is my goodness all just outward show?

Loving Father, thank you for the Christlike people who have helped to mould and shape me, probably never even realising what they were doing. Help me, by your grace, to follow in their footsteps. Amen.