Good Monday Morning, Dear Friends,
Years ago, I read a book by Dr. Arnold Lowe entitled The Worth of Man. Near the end of the book there was a chapter with the intriguing title, “When Glory Comes Too Late.” Lowe told of attending a performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. At the conclusion of the performance, there were numerous curtain calls, great bursts of applause, and shouts of “Bravo!” Lowe said as he left the opera house that night, he could not help but think, “What a shame Mozart himself could not have heard the applause.” Only then did I remember that the immortal composer died almost penniless and his funeral was attended by only a handful of people.
There is often a kind of injustice built into life. In this life, at least, people do not always get their due. There are those such as Abraham Lincoln and Anne Frank who were missed when the laurels were passed out during their lifetimes. Anne Frank died at the young age of 15 in a German concentration camp, and yet her writing — a simple diary — has gone on to become one of the most famous publications ever. Lincoln died never knowing that his Gettysburg Address would someday be called, “the most precious gem of the English language.” There are times when glory comes too late.
Sometimes the people to whom we owe the most we are able to repay the least. Jesus once said, “Freely you have received; therefore, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). We repay our debts to the past by being faithful in the present and future. We can’t always repay our parents for the heritage we have received from them. We can, however, be faithful to our children. Sometimes that’s the only way we can square accounts.
Most of us have been helped somewhere along the way. We look back, remembering those people, and wonder how we can repay our debt to them. But they are gone. Time and distance have separated them forever. There’s no way back to them, and “glory has come too late.”
It’s worth remembering, however, that while we may not be able to return the blessings to those from whom they came, we can still pay our debts. We can pass along to someone else a special act of kindness, a good deed, or a good word. The people who do that make an amazing discovery. They find a new peace of mind and inner serenity. They know their debts are paid.
We owe a debt for every blessing we enjoy,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
