“But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27, ESV)
Fame is elusive. It ebbs and wanes. With time, fame is forgotten.
For some people, fame may last for centuries, such as with Julius Caesar or William Shakespeare. For some, fame may last a few days or years. I once was told that a famous dancer only has about ten years of notoriety before his or her body begins to age and falter. That famous dancer will be replaced by another famous dancer.
Recently, I heard a comedian talk about the famous John Wayne. John Wayne was a famous actor best known for his western brawl and western movies. There was hardly an American alive in the 1950’s who didn’t know about John Wayne. Talk show hosts in that day begged for him to visit. Admirers fought to get his autograph or picture. Just last week, I asked three people what they thought about John Wayne. All were under thirty. All three said, “John who?”
A little girl was walking with her mother down a street in Princeton, New Jersey in 1951. She was so very excited. The two were all dressed up and on the way to a special luncheon for mothers and daughters. As they walked along, the man walking in front of them dropped a coin and bent to pick it up. After walking around the man, the young girl asked her mother, “Did you see that man’s hair? It was a mess.” Her mother didn’t have the time to explain to her daughter that the man who dropped the coin and had the messy hair was in fact the famous physicist, Albert Einstein. The young girl had no clue.
A young woman working as a waitress in Los Angeles was asked if she would like a big tip. She responded, “I’d rather have an acting job or a famous name.” The young woman tried for years to garner that breakout role. Fame eluded her. She finally moved back to Chicago ten years later, with barely enough money for a ticket home.
So many people in this world endeavor to garnish fame and popularity. People do videos on TikTok and YouTube and Instagram, hoping to be a social media phenomenon. Some see themselves as a success when people on the street recognize them from their videos. Some spend years and countless hours honing their public image, striving to be recognized by other famous people. They want a name for themselves. They want to be known all over the world.
I’d rather be known by God in Heaven as His child. Some say, “I want to people to know my name!”. I want God to know my name.
After the war in Jerusalem and the exile of Jews in 586 BC, the people of Israel wondered if they had a future. The Temple lay in ruins. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the invading armies of Babylon. For decades, the people of Zion cried out, “The Lord has forsaken us” (Isaiah 49:14). God’s reply came to the prophet Isaiah some forty years after the war. God told the people of Zion, “I will not forget you! I have engraved your name on the palm of my hand…” (Isaiah 49:15, 16). God remembers the names of the faithful forever.
The end of time is explained by the book of Revelation. In one of the last verses of the Bible, Heaven is described as a place with “nothing unclean” (Revelation 21:27). Nobody who is unworthy is found there. However, the faithful are remembered. Revelation 21:27 notes that God has a book of the names of the faithful. It is named the “Lamb’s book of life”. In it is recorded all the names of those who belong in Heaven, those who were faithful in life and are now recognized in eternity. While worldly people long for fame and fortune, godly people long to be included in the “Lamb’s book of life”. Do you think your name is found there?
A woman stood next to her brother. He had just lost his wife in a freak car accident. Her brother was in the bedroom choosing the clothes to give to the funeral home, in which to bury his beloved wife. The brother opened the bottom drawer and lifted out a special box. Opening it on the bed, the brother told his sister how his wife had bought the dress in the box for a special occasion. He remarked, as tears poured from his eyes, “She bought this in New York three months ago. She never wore it. She was waiting for a special occasion to wear it. I guess this will be the special occasion.” His hands lingered over the soft material for a moment. Then, he turned to his sister and said, “Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you are alive is a special occasion. It is a gift.”
Later, the sister wrote, “I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister’s family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn’t seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.
I’m still thinking about his words, and they’ve changed my life.”
(6000 Plus Illustrations for Communicating Biblical Truths).
Life can be over in an instant. So can fame. So can all your fortunes. All too soon after you are gone, people will forget your name. God will not. Fame can be fleeting. Being famous can even wreck a life. However, having your name written down forever in the “Lamb’s book of life” will make your name known forever in the best of places. How much of your time on this earth was devoted to making yourself well-known to others? How much of your life was spent in making your name known to God?
For some people, fame may last for centuries, such as with Julius Caesar or William Shakespeare. For some, fame may last a few days or years. I once was told that a famous dancer only has about ten years of notoriety before his or her body begins to age and falter. That famous dancer will be replaced by another famous dancer.
Recently, I heard a comedian talk about the famous John Wayne. John Wayne was a famous actor best known for his western brawl and western movies. There was hardly an American alive in the 1950’s who didn’t know about John Wayne. Talk show hosts in that day begged for him to visit. Admirers fought to get his autograph or picture. Just last week, I asked three people what they thought about John Wayne. All were under thirty. All three said, “John who?”
A little girl was walking with her mother down a street in Princeton, New Jersey in 1951. She was so very excited. The two were all dressed up and on the way to a special luncheon for mothers and daughters. As they walked along, the man walking in front of them dropped a coin and bent to pick it up. After walking around the man, the young girl asked her mother, “Did you see that man’s hair? It was a mess.” Her mother didn’t have the time to explain to her daughter that the man who dropped the coin and had the messy hair was in fact the famous physicist, Albert Einstein. The young girl had no clue.
A young woman working as a waitress in Los Angeles was asked if she would like a big tip. She responded, “I’d rather have an acting job or a famous name.” The young woman tried for years to garner that breakout role. Fame eluded her. She finally moved back to Chicago ten years later, with barely enough money for a ticket home.
So many people in this world endeavor to garnish fame and popularity. People do videos on TikTok and YouTube and Instagram, hoping to be a social media phenomenon. Some see themselves as a success when people on the street recognize them from their videos. Some spend years and countless hours honing their public image, striving to be recognized by other famous people. They want a name for themselves. They want to be known all over the world.
I’d rather be known by God in Heaven as His child. Some say, “I want to people to know my name!”. I want God to know my name.
After the war in Jerusalem and the exile of Jews in 586 BC, the people of Israel wondered if they had a future. The Temple lay in ruins. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the invading armies of Babylon. For decades, the people of Zion cried out, “The Lord has forsaken us” (Isaiah 49:14). God’s reply came to the prophet Isaiah some forty years after the war. God told the people of Zion, “I will not forget you! I have engraved your name on the palm of my hand…” (Isaiah 49:15, 16). God remembers the names of the faithful forever.
The end of time is explained by the book of Revelation. In one of the last verses of the Bible, Heaven is described as a place with “nothing unclean” (Revelation 21:27). Nobody who is unworthy is found there. However, the faithful are remembered. Revelation 21:27 notes that God has a book of the names of the faithful. It is named the “Lamb’s book of life”. In it is recorded all the names of those who belong in Heaven, those who were faithful in life and are now recognized in eternity. While worldly people long for fame and fortune, godly people long to be included in the “Lamb’s book of life”. Do you think your name is found there?
A woman stood next to her brother. He had just lost his wife in a freak car accident. Her brother was in the bedroom choosing the clothes to give to the funeral home, in which to bury his beloved wife. The brother opened the bottom drawer and lifted out a special box. Opening it on the bed, the brother told his sister how his wife had bought the dress in the box for a special occasion. He remarked, as tears poured from his eyes, “She bought this in New York three months ago. She never wore it. She was waiting for a special occasion to wear it. I guess this will be the special occasion.” His hands lingered over the soft material for a moment. Then, he turned to his sister and said, “Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you are alive is a special occasion. It is a gift.”
Later, the sister wrote, “I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister’s family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn’t seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.
I’m still thinking about his words, and they’ve changed my life.”
(6000 Plus Illustrations for Communicating Biblical Truths).
Life can be over in an instant. So can fame. So can all your fortunes. All too soon after you are gone, people will forget your name. God will not. Fame can be fleeting. Being famous can even wreck a life. However, having your name written down forever in the “Lamb’s book of life” will make your name known forever in the best of places. How much of your time on this earth was devoted to making yourself well-known to others? How much of your life was spent in making your name known to God?