Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1502536
Everybody Loves A Parade! Marty Edwards Parades and I go way back! I started life in 1955 Mount Vernon, New York, just North of the city. I have very clear memories of standing on a crowded sidewalk, watching a huge parade go by, like the massive New York Thanksgiving Day parade as well as others. Then again, any parade is going to be impressive to a preschooler. Over the years, like many of you, I have attended quite a few other parades here and there. I was even a clown in one parade where I ran back and forth for a mile or more, curb to curb, squirting the masses with a squirt bottle, and making them laugh. (I actually graduated from clown college...yes, really! See photo above.) Many of us have been invited to parade down the boulevard, making a lot of noise on our big beautiful motorcycles! Today, however, I am thinking about a different kind of parade. We read about it in the second chapter of 1John verses 15-17: " 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever..." The words chosen here in v17 for "pass away" give a clear picture of watching something come, and go...to "pass by" or to "pass away." - just like a parade that comes and then goes. The "world" spoken of here is not referring to the earth, but the process of life, i.e. "the world in which we live." Life comes and goes, like a parade. It starts and makes a lot of noise...there's great excitement and fanfare followed by great expectations, colors, and smells...and then one day...it's gone! It passed away and in the end, all that is left is a great big mess and piles of horse manure. Depending on where you are in life, you are literally in the parade right now. It's loud, busy, messy and passing by...and it's not coming back. I have to ask myself, "What is my parade leaving behind? What have I left behind for others?" Some leave a great reputation. Some...not so much. Some leave a lot of assets. Some, very little. Far more important than what people will say, however, is what will the Lord say? The answer we are looking for is, "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21) When my parade has come and gone, what will people say about how I treated them? Will people remember me as being generous, cheerful and helpful? Will I have made any positive differences in the lives of others as I pass by? Will anyone say, "He's the one who led me to Jesus." That's important because that's what Jesus told us to do. "Go into all the world and make disciples." (Matthew 28) We have been told to: "Be ready in and out of season to give a reason for the hope that you have." (2Tim4) When the band stops playing... once the hype and fanfare have all passed away, what will we have left behind? The saying goes, "You can't take it with you." ...but we can leave a fortune of Good News and en- couragement behind for others. Now is the time to love and give and forgive and tell others about Jesus! Right now we can play our part in helping someone make it to Heaven instead of ending up in Hell. NOW is the time to demonstrate the love of Christ in all that we do or say. Our parade may be passing but we can leave an eternal fortune behind for others as we go onto our own rewards! b