Happy Halloween

Every person in the graveyard has something very similar in common with us. We are all going to die. You’ll notice that on every one of the gravestones there are two dates. One to mark their birth and one to mark their death. But what’s in between, that dash in between these two dates is what really matters. Death is not something for us as Christians to fear because we are not our bodies.

We should teach our children to think no more of their bodies when dead than they do of their hair when cut off, or of their old clothes when they have done with them.—George McDonald

Hebrews 9:27 says “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement.”

Judgement for what?? Surely not the way you died. Each one of us will be judged according to the dash. How will we be judged according to the dash?

1 Corinthians 3:10b-15 says “But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other that the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved but only as one escaping through the flames.”

We know here that Paul is speaking directly to the Christians. It’s important to note that there isn’t any punishment. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. If you know Christ as you personal Savior, then no matter what your dash looks like when that final date is written in, you will escape the flames. But if you build your life on the foundation of Christ with materials such as gold, silver, and costly stones, then you will receive your reward. What does it mean to build your life out of gold, silver, and stones?

Guys, the dash is what counts, the dash in between is what you will be judged on. What does your dash look like so far? You will not be punished on that Day, but you cannot take your wealth, relationships, or influence with you into Heaven.

On December 17, 1912 Bill Borden boarded ship for China. Borden was born into an upper-class family on Chicago’s Gold Coast, heir to a fortune in real estate and milk production. His mother became a Christian, and young Bill began attending Chicago’s Moody Church with her, soon becoming a Christian himself. Shortly afterward, when Pastor R. A. Torrey challenged worshipers to dedicate their lives to God’s service, William quietly rose. He stood a long, long time while the service went on and it was a consecration from which he never retreated.

Later at Yale University, Bill became well known as a star athlete, good-looking, worth $50 million, and committed to Christ. At a student missions conference in Nashville, he was deeply moved by Samuel Zwemer to reach the Muslims; and following graduation he announced he was giving his immense inheritance to the cause of world missions. He joined the China Inland Mission, planning to evangelize the Muslims in China. But first came language study in Egypt. On the eve of his departure, his widowed mother wondered if Bill had done the right thing, giving up fortune and homeland. “In the quiet of my room that night, worn and weary and sad, I fell asleep asking myself again and again, ‘Is it, after all, worthwhile?’ In the morning as I awoke, a still small voice was speaking in my heart, answering: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only beloved son. … ’ ”

A month after arriving in Egypt, Borden contracted spinal meningitis. He was dead in two weeks, but he left a final message on paper stuffed under his pillow: “No Reserve! No Retreat! No Regrets!”

The story of his sacrifice was retold in newspapers across America and the publication of his biography resulted in a dramatic leap in numbers of young people offering themselves as living sacrifices for Christ.