Read: Galatians 5

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” 2 Corinthians 13:5a

One day in 1888, Alfred Nobel learned to his dismay that his brother Ludwig had died in France. His grief was compounded by the fact that the editor of the newspaper had published false information. The French paper had published Alfred’s obituary, not Ludwig’s. An editor had confused the brothers, and the headlines read, “The Merchant of Death is Dead.” It went on to describe Alfred as the Swedish chemist who had made a fortune inventing and producing dynamite. The paper said: “Alfred became rich, by helping people kill each other.” Shaken by the appraisal of his life, Nobel resolved to change his legacy. When he died eight years later, he left nine million dollars to fund awards for people whose work had benefited humanity. Today these awards are known as the Nobel prizes. Ponder this question. What would you read in an honest appraisal of your own life? What would your obituary say? Your life is writing a story about you. Take this challenge. Sit down in the near future, do some honest thinking, and write your own obituary. Make a list of the things you will be remembered by. Read it. How do you feel about this obituary? You can be sure it is biased toward yourself. I doubt that any of us could write our own obituary without bias. Now write your obituary again, only this time imagine it being written by the angel that is watching over you. This angel is keeping track of the treasures you are laying up in heaven. Do you feel that the legacy of your life is pleasing God? You will probably never get to read your own obituary but live as if you will.