Wherever I wake up as I travel this nation serving in the ministry of the Family Research Council, I try to take a walk.
This, as I understand it, makes my heart healthy and my cardiologist happy!
Problem is that from time to time my Eastern Standard Time body wakes up before there is daylight available for me to do so.
What I needed was a path to follow. I had to rely solely on the sporadic lighting that was available from street lamps and buildings that guided me.
This experience reminded me of the story of early African converts to Christianity who were earnest and regular in private devotions.
Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn.
As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, “Brother, the grass grows on your path.”
It’s not just about what others observe in our prayer life, but what others see in every aspect of who we are as believers. I want to leave good tracks!
One of my favorite images of the early church is found in the fourth chapter of Acts as a handful of Christ followers are brought before the authorities and examined for their behavior.
What the religious leaders find in their lives is worth noting.
Peter and John had offered testimony regarding a man whom God had healed at the temple.
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”
In those verses, we find a beautiful picture of evidence in their lives that cannot be disputed. I see their boldness in the face of their detractors.
It was uncommon for men such as these to take such a stand for their faith in the face of persecution. They meant business!
They saw the man that was healed and could say nothing against it. You talk about evidence.
Whether they believed the men or not, whether or not they believed in Jesus, there was before them evidence they could not dispute.
Lastly, the verses tell us that these men reminded their persecutors of Jesus. What an honor!
May we always remind those we meet of Jesus!
An incredible honor, don’t you think? To be thought of as bold and with clear and undeniable proof of your faith, while at the same time reminding people of Jesus!
What great tracks to leave behind!
Ask any pastor who’s spent a career preaching funeral sermons. As families and friends gather to talk about their loved one, they almost never mention work or money, unless the stories are about how their loved one had used a job or their money in giving to others.
Instead, the stories will come of fathers who read or mothers who stopped to play, with their children.
They’ll tell of vacations and days when they finally understood the sacrifice of a giving grandparent. They’ll tell of letters written, special days of worship, and of being loved.
Strangely enough, it usually catches us by surprise to find that the things others considered most about us are not how successful we might have been, but rather, how much we loved them.
But it is in loving others that we best show how we love God.
In one of the last parables in Matthew’s gospel we find the story of sheep, goats and the judgement. In the separating process of the account all parties wanted to know why they’d missed their reward because they were “goats,” or why they’d received their reward because they were “sheep.”
In both cases, the deciding factor was whether or not those facing judgment had loved others.
They either had or had not fed the hungry, satisfied the thirsty, housed the stranger, clothed the naked, ministered to the sick and visited those in prison.
When it comes to judgment, Jesus shows us that we will be separated according to what we are. And what we are determines what we do. Jesus’ sheep follow His voice. They do what He does.
Everyone leaves a legacy. Good, bad, or even indifferent, we all leave footprints behind us.
We will be remembered for our generosity or selfishness. Those who mourn us will talk about the ways we loved them, or the ways we neglected them.
There’s only one way to leave a Christ-like legacy… to leave good footprints that will last.
You’ve got to know the shepherd!
Know him as your personal savior and let Him fill you with His Spirit, and then watch as He empowers and teaches you how to love Him and others.
I’ll leave my tracks and you’ll leave yours.
Let’s leave a good path for others to follow!

Tim Throckmorton is the national director of Family Resource Council’s Community Impact Teams.