Recognition, acceptance, appreciation and accolade are part of the innate aspiration of many people. In a day of political correctness, it is refreshing to see those who are marked by uncompromising character and unwavering conviction. While those who are doers and thinkers don’t usually dwell upon how others may react or respond to their work ethic or precise rhetoric, nor spend much time delving into the conclusions others have about them – there is a time to recognize zeal, fervor, intellect, accomplishment. An example of this can be seen in some words shared about Irving Kristol following his death this week.
The following was written by John Podhoretz at Commentary: “The intellectual and political life of the United States over the past 60 years was affected in so many important and enduring ways by Irving Kristol that it is difficult to capture in words the extent of his powerful and positive influence. Irving, who died today (Friday, September 18th) at the age of 89, was the rarest of creatures—a thoroughgoing intellectual who was also a man of action. He was a maker of things, a builder of institutions, a harvester and disseminator and progenitor of ideas and the means whereby those ideas were made flesh. The clarity of his thinking and the surety of his purpose were one and the same; they were immeasurably enhanced by a powerful curiosity for the way things worked and the ways in which things could be made to work better. His was a restless intelligence, always on the move; there was not an idea he didn’t want to play with, and there wasn’t a new idea for a think tank or a magazine or a center for the study of something-or-other that didn’t excite him. He was a conservative by temperament and conviction, but he was an innovator to the depths of his being…”
Tombstones usually record the name and lifespan of a person, while some have a more personalized message on them. There is the His and Her Message Tombstones – “HIS was dated Sept 15, 1854: Stop here my friend and cast an eye; As you are now, so once was I; As I am now, so shall you be; Prepare for death, and follow me. HERS, dated April 12 1859, simply allowed: To follow you I'm not content; Until I know Which way you went.” One creative man decided to play a game with his name in a Ruidoso, New Mexico, Cemetery: “Here lies Johnny Yeast - Pardon me For not rising.” And - On Margaret Daniels grave at Hollywood Cemetery Richmond, Virginia: “She always said her feet were killing her but nobody believed her.”
Some of the Biblical Obituaries and Epitaphs succinctly state the life, character and spiritual relationship of the individual. In Deuteronomy 34:7, at the moment and point of the Death of Moses, this testimonial word is given: “Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.” A very unique individual is memorialized in Genesis 5:21-24, “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after…Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Hebrews 11:5 states it: “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.” His Life Summary: A lifetime of walking with God and pleasing Him. In Acts 6:15 are these words about Stephen as he was about to be stoned to death: “All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” And in Acts 7:55, “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” In Acts 7:59, Stephen’s last thought and prayer: “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” A Sermon by Paul includes these words about David in Acts 13:36-39, “For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay…I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” What will be the true - factual words that can be shared about you at your death? This is the time to think about and to begin to live it! Consider these things with me!
The following was written by John Podhoretz at Commentary: “The intellectual and political life of the United States over the past 60 years was affected in so many important and enduring ways by Irving Kristol that it is difficult to capture in words the extent of his powerful and positive influence. Irving, who died today (Friday, September 18th) at the age of 89, was the rarest of creatures—a thoroughgoing intellectual who was also a man of action. He was a maker of things, a builder of institutions, a harvester and disseminator and progenitor of ideas and the means whereby those ideas were made flesh. The clarity of his thinking and the surety of his purpose were one and the same; they were immeasurably enhanced by a powerful curiosity for the way things worked and the ways in which things could be made to work better. His was a restless intelligence, always on the move; there was not an idea he didn’t want to play with, and there wasn’t a new idea for a think tank or a magazine or a center for the study of something-or-other that didn’t excite him. He was a conservative by temperament and conviction, but he was an innovator to the depths of his being…”
Tombstones usually record the name and lifespan of a person, while some have a more personalized message on them. There is the His and Her Message Tombstones – “HIS was dated Sept 15, 1854: Stop here my friend and cast an eye; As you are now, so once was I; As I am now, so shall you be; Prepare for death, and follow me. HERS, dated April 12 1859, simply allowed: To follow you I'm not content; Until I know Which way you went.” One creative man decided to play a game with his name in a Ruidoso, New Mexico, Cemetery: “Here lies Johnny Yeast - Pardon me For not rising.” And - On Margaret Daniels grave at Hollywood Cemetery Richmond, Virginia: “She always said her feet were killing her but nobody believed her.”
Some of the Biblical Obituaries and Epitaphs succinctly state the life, character and spiritual relationship of the individual. In Deuteronomy 34:7, at the moment and point of the Death of Moses, this testimonial word is given: “Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.” A very unique individual is memorialized in Genesis 5:21-24, “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after…Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Hebrews 11:5 states it: “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.” His Life Summary: A lifetime of walking with God and pleasing Him. In Acts 6:15 are these words about Stephen as he was about to be stoned to death: “All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” And in Acts 7:55, “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” In Acts 7:59, Stephen’s last thought and prayer: “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” A Sermon by Paul includes these words about David in Acts 13:36-39, “For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay…I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” What will be the true - factual words that can be shared about you at your death? This is the time to think about and to begin to live it! Consider these things with me!
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