by Steve Higginbotham
It was close to 43 years ago, and I was a little boy standing by my dad’s side after he had preached a funeral. The funeral was conducted at the Church of Christ in Daybrook, WV. As the people were leaving the church building, I remember an elderly lady by the name of Mintie Shriver (I didn’t know her name, but my Dad remembers the occasion and told me who she was) coming to my dad and saying the following…
I wish you wealth. I wish you health. I wish you gold in store. I wish you heaven when you die, How could I wish you more.
I don’t know why, but those words meant something to me as a little boy, and they have remained a part of my life ever since. I don’t think I had ever met this lady before or after that day. I’m also sure she has been deceased for close to four decades. Yet, her influence remains alive today through a brief, one time encounter with a little boy who was listening in on her conversation with another person.
The Hebrew writer tells us of Abel, the first man to die, and says, “He being dead still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). Friends, don’t sell your influence short. What you say and what you do will live long after you are dead and gone; and not just among your friends and family, but among casual acquaintances and bystanders.
What will we speak after we are dead and gone? Give it some thought.