“And Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him” (1 Kings 16:33).

Ahab, the seventh king of the Northern Tribes, ruled twenty-two years. He is remembered as the king who provoked the Lord to anger greater than any other king. What a way to be remembered! I may be remembered as the one who left you in a cliffhanger yesterday. I wrote to you of the situation I faced years ago as a young pastor when I was invited to conduct the funeral of a wicked young man. The contact was made through the television ministry of our church. The assembled guests waited to see what this Baptist minister would say. I stood before them, introduced myself and said, “Thank you for the privilege of being invited to conduct the funeral service of John Smith (not his real name). I never had the opportunity of meeting him, but I am delighted to meet you today. I am sorry that it is under these circumstances. It is an honor to stand before you today and a solemn responsibility to remind you that someday you too shall come into this same situation. Someday you will die. I have two questions for you. First, do you know Christ as your Savior, and second, how do you want to be remembered?” From that point on, I had the privilege of sharing the Word of God. Think of the question. How do you want to be remembered?

For today: I need to live for Christ in such a way that, after I am gone, folks will not so much remember me as they remember how Christ worked through me.