Good Winter Morning, My Dear Friends,
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” That’s the way Henry David Thoreau put it in one of his books written generations ago after living two years in a little cabin near Walden Pond.
We’ve all heard this statement, “Don’t worry about it; you won’t know the difference a hundred years from now.” Let me suggest another thought using the same idea: perhaps we should give ourselves to things that will make a difference a hundred years from now. There are ways to do just that.
In 1723, the body of Sir Christopher Wren was laid to rest in London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. Wren had designed the cathedral following its destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Wren’s well-known epitaph appears in that cathedral: “If you would see his monument, look around.” Wren’s masterpiece still stands as a memorial to one who lived beyond his years.
Most of us will have no opportunity to design great buildings, construct temples or pyramids. Even so, we can live beyond our days. There is a proverb which says, “If you want to plant for a season, sow a garden; for a century, plant a tree; but if you want to plant for eternity, touch a life for good.”
That last door is open to everyone. The apostle Paul’s influence will survive infinity. Albert Schweitzer’s skilled and talented hands will reach down countless centuries. Abraham Lincoln’s gallant and courageous spirit will forever tug at the tides of time. And Jesus, the Nazarene carpenter, changed the world so that it will never be the same.
The impact of our lives will not be nearly so great, but in some small way all of us can give something good to the world that will survive us. It may be helping to begin and build a new church, supporting some noble and worthy cause, giving a word of encouragement, or helping a talented person, or perhaps through the lives of our children. All of us can do something that will make a difference a hundred years from now if we’re willing to march to the beat of our own drummer. It’s the ones who march to such music who are able to look back from the end of life and not be ashamed.
That’s a drum worth marching to,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
