How Will Everyone Feel When You're Gone?

Have you ever thought about that question?  I was reminded of it again this morning as I read through a portion of God's Word.  There was a young man named Jehoram who just happened to be the oldest son of good King Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 21).  Jehoshaphat wasn't a perfect man, but clearly he loved the Lord and did a great deal to turn the hearts of Judah back toward the Lord.  When Jehoshaphat died, Jehoram became king in his place.  Not only did he fail to share his father's passion for God, but he did all he could to direct Judah's worship away from the Lord and toward the gods of the nations.

After several years of King Jeroham's ungodliness, the Lord's prophet (Elijah) sent a letter to his palace.  It basically told the king that his wife, children, and possessions would all be carried away and that he himself would die a miserable death.  Literally, that his intestines would "come out by reason of the sickness, day by day" (2 Chron. 21:15).  Awful to say the least.

Here's the point I really want to make.  When Jeroham died, the Bible says that "his people made no burning for him, like the burning for his father" (v. 19).  In other words, nobody mourned or grieved over his death.  In fact, the Bible plainly says that "he reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one's sorrow, departed" (v. 20).  They didn't even bury him in the tombs of the kings.  He was forty years old, he was dead, and no one cared.  Frankly, they were glad he was gone.

The story of Jeroham is tragic, but thankfully his is not the only one contained in Scripture.  For a moment longer, consider the story of a lovely woman named Tabitha.  The Bible says "this woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did" (Acts 9:36).  It so happened that she became sick and died in the city of Joppa.  What I really want to emphasize is what happened when she died.  The Bible says that when Peter had come to the upper room where Tabitha's body was that "all the widows stood by him weeping, showing all the tunics and garments which she had made while she was with them" (Acts 9:39).  Consequently, God raised Tabitha from the dead through the ministry of the Apostle Peter.  I'm sure it was quite a party among the saints and widows the day that Tabitha was raised from the dead.

A king dies, and no one cares.  A sweet little lady from Joppa passes away, and scores of widows come to mourn her death.  Everyone was glad when the king died.  Everyone was heartbroken when Tabitha passed away.  I wonder how everyone will feel when I'm gone.  I wonder how they'll feel when you're gone.  I don't know about you, but I want to live my life in such a way that I will be missed when I'm gone.  I genuinely hope it is a day of sadness and mourning, not because of anything I've done, but because I want people to say "I experienced the love of God through the ministry of that man."  Let's live our lives for the glory of God, and just maybe someone will be sad when we're gone.  Let's also thank God that they won't have to "sorrow as others who have no hope" (1 Thess. 4:13).