Ensign: The Story Of A Man Named Alfred

[This is a reprint from five years ago; it's been a rough week. Please pray for us. -- David]


All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3

AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 9 October 2015 

 

One morning Alfred who was rich and had more than three hundred patents in his name read his obituary in the morning paper.  All of his discoveries had been in the field of death and destruction – at least, in objects more often than not used to kill and destroy – and included dynamite, smokeless gunpowder, high-powered explosives, and this death notice reflected a life of the man perhaps single-handedly responsible for escalating the arms race. 

 

Alfred was horrified to see this portrayal of him as a heartless monster, even after the newspaper that published his obituary admitted its mistake – it was his brother who had died – and changed his life.  And you may know Alfred better for what he did after this epiphany over the last eight years of his life, laying the groundwork and building up the fortune for annual awards to be given for outstanding achievement in the fields of literature, medicine, physics, chemistry, and peace.  The Nobel Prizes, named for Alfred Nobel, are what he’s ended up remembered for.

 

What are you and I remembered for?  Please don’t insist that’s too grandiose, even our closest family and dearest friends will choose to remember us for SOMETHING.  I’ve heard the last few times on a particular radio program (OK, it’s “Making Life Work”, and I’ll be on that show this coming Tuesday at 1:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, go to KHRT 106.9 FM) that if we have an idea how we want our lives to have an impact, we should write our imagined obituaries.  I haven’t done that YET, but it would be an interesting exercise.

 

One online friend said this week after reading a post of mine that I was “easy to read and entertaining”.  I take that like I take any praise, as encouragement, but I ask do I really want to be known or remembered for my words of tongue or pen (or keystroke, to update Amy Lowell)?  Based on what I’ve saved and written over the years – seven books, journals from July 1992 onward and letters I copy – it would be easy to get the wrong impression about me.

 

And THAT says something to me; to the point that I’m just living and not living for a purpose, a person, or a goal, I’m not really living, am I?  Yet how many of us make the same mistake, get so concerned about going through the motions of making a living that we forget to make a life.  When we do that, it’s easy to point out where others fall short of the mark, a tendency Jesus in His sermon on the mount (Matthew 7:3-5) criticized as pointing out the mote in another person’s eyes but neglecting the beams in our own eyes? 

 

Make no mistake, there IS a beam in my own.  In your own.  And as long as you and I live, saved or lost, man or woman, black or white, we are responsible for ourselves to be the people others want to follow, even if they’re not aware they’re doing it!  Like my son Jeffrey who said “I want to follow you Daddy” up the stairs yesterday as I was putting folded clothes away, I want to be sure I’m following who knows (and Who knows) what is best for me, even if I don’t see that sometimes.

 

The fact that we fail, the fact that we sin, the fact that we in Paul’s words “die daily” is never meant to stop us.  There’s always room to be forgiven, there’s always room to be restored, there’s always room to live!  Do something great with your life; it’s not affected by government edicts, medical prescriptions, physical conditions or any other power or principality (Ephesians 6:12 refers not just to what’s outside us, but what’s in us) except to the degree you allow it. 

 

God is not in control of you or me save to the degree we allow Him to be.  I can’t say whether Alfred Nobel’s change of heart came about because of a religious conversion, but I can say that when we accept our own power, the blessing of our God-given life, to take control and turn in a renewed direction that the story of a man named Alfred is our story too.      

 

Sincerely yours,

David          

P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you in my address book, and I hope to be an encourager to action too! If you find that I'm not or you want me to get lost, just let me know -- thank you!

Thank You, Lord, that we can come to you in prayer and that You provide for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence there and around the world.

Thank You, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service, both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You. I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.