What will you be remembered for?
This is an important question. Most of us want to be remembered for who we are, and the good things we do. But will we? The answer to that lies largely in the choices we make each day and the way we live out those choices. We always have a choice to make a good decision. Whether we do or not is up to us.
Esther was an amazing young woman during the reign of Xerxes in Persia. She was picked almost randomly from obscurity by the royal watchers and placed in the King’s harem. Not a great place for a good Jewish girl. Despite her circumstances she was able to rise up, stand up and be counted and was instrumental in saving the Jewish nation in exile. God used her position in the royal court for his purposes and we know her and remember her today as the beautiful girl who saved the Jews.
As I read through Esther though, I notice something really important, that sometimes gets overlooked. Esther was not the instigation for the rescuing of her people. It was actually Mordecai who was the instigator. Mordecai loved God. He was constant and steadfast in his loyalty to God, to the King and to his own people the Jews. When the king was threatened by a plot, Mordecai informed the King. He did not have to, but he chose to do what was right. When his people were threatened, he chose to be pro-active. He did what he could do to get the message to Esther, that she was the only person who had any chance of stopping the plot to kill the Jews. It was Mordecai who realised that Esther had come to her position in the royal house “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14) and it was a God given opportunity for her to do something that would change history. She chose to do something even when her life was at risk. She made a difference.
Because Mordecai was faithful and saved the kings life, he was honoured. Because Esther was ready to risk her life, a nation was saved. Eventually Mordecai is raised up and is given a position in government second in rank to the King. He is remembered as a person “held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of others” (Esther 10:3).
Which brings us back to the original question. What will you be remembered for? We too, like Mordecai and Esther, have many opportunities to work for the good of others. This life is not about us, it is about the Kingdom of God. It is about the salvation of people. It is about God’s purpose on this earth, and it is about serving others. Hopefully as we make Godly choices we will be remembered as people who worked for the good of our people and who spoke up for the welfare of others.
The choice is yours and mine to make each day. What choice will you make?