Where Will You Leave Your Glory?

©Deborah Bolack 2004
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where will you leave your glory

when you leave this world behind?
Where have you given your heart and soul?
Where have you spent your time?
~

Will it be in the souls you led to Christ;

in the children you have raised?
Will it be in a work you’ve done for the Lord;

in the difference your life made?
Or will your glory stand as a monument

that towers above your grave;
made by a man with marble and stone,

on a base of wood and hay?

~
Where will you leave your glory,

when you leave this world behind?
Where have you given your heart and soul?
Where have you spent your time?
~
Will it be in the houses and land you own;

in the money you have saved?
Will it be in the work you’ve done for the world;

in the name that you have made?
Or will your glory stand as a heritage,

extending beyond your grave,
made by a man in service to God,

on his faith in Jesus Christ?

~
Where will you leave your glory,

when you leave this world behind?
Where have you given your heart and soul?
Where have you spent your time?
~

What have you done for the Lord?

~~~

Isaiah 10:3 d ...and where will ye leave your glory?
1 Corinthians 3:12,13 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
2 Corinthians 10:17 But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

~~~

When people tour my parents’ garden, my dad often will dig up a bit of a perennial for them to take home to plant. Although they could probably make a substantial amount of money selling their plants, my dad prefers to give them away. One day he jokingly said, “I’d rather have the glory.” I knew what he meant...the reward that comes from freely sharing our bounty and our gifts far outweighs any monetary reward the world might give. Of course, the ultimate gift that we can share is our faith in the Lord, and it’s often those little kindnesses toward others that open the door to share that gift.

Shortly after my conversation with Dad, I heard a message by Bro Sam Gipp called, "Where Will You Leave Your Glory?" A story he told about Fanny Crosby stayed with me. Apparently, she visited the grave of P.T. Barnum. As she felt around the very ornate monument, she commented on what the cost of such an elaborate memorial must have been. She then stated that her own grave should be marked by just a simple stone. That stone now sits just steps away from Barnum's and is one of the smallest in the cemetary. It reads simply," Aunt Fanny She hath done what she could Fanny J, Crosby"

I smiled, knowing I would soon be writing this song. Money and possessions are only temporary, and a monument in a cemetery will one day crumble, but we can lay up treasure in heaven by the way we live each day.