1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian 9a - Blessed are those who are persecuted _1_ | Page 8

for something that was not real. It speaks of the courage that God gives in times
of deep trial, but above all, this voice is redemptively powerful.
In Judges 16 we have Samson being hauled before the Philistines to be mocked
and ultimately killed. But is says of Samson that he killed more Philistines at
his death than in his whole life. That may not sound spiritually redemptive, but
it illustrates to us the power of a good death. Although Samson had messed up
his life to a large extent, God still had the final say where God’s purpose for
Samson’s life was still attained.
The greatest example of the redemptive voice of the dead is found in the death of
Jesus Himself. As per our reading today, the Roman centurion who stood at the
cross of Jesus and watched him die that day, made this declaration upon Jesus’
death, “Surely he was the Son of God!” How amazing that even in death Jesus’
voice continues to speak. It is upon this principle that we build our theology.
Hebrews 11 v 4 puts it like this; that a man’s life continues to speak long after
he has gone.
I guess that this would ultimately be true of all of us. All of our lives will speak
for something; some people’s lives will speak of pain where the remembrance of
them will be a reminder of bad living. Some will speak of good and this is great,
because the lessons that we learn from people’s lives are lessons that live on in
our memories and in our minds long after the people themselves have gone. The
impact of your life will be felt even though you may no longer be here. The
question we need to ask in light of this truth is what will your life speak for?
Jesus’ life and the lives of the martyrs to date speak of righteousness and the
commitment to a cause worth dying for; I wonder what your life will speak of…
Won’t you evaluate today the redemptive quality of your life? Will people speak
of you, not just from the point of view of your achievements here on earth or give
you accolades for sports and business, but will the most lasting thought of you be
of a redeemed life, a life that epitomised the values and the priorities of godly
living and one that reflected beautifully the cause of Christ and a love for Jesus.
These qualities are by far the most important in that the wonder of them is that
God will continue to use your life as a voice that will speak on long after you too
have gone.

Thought:Won’t you take these final thoughts of today and spend some
Prayer Thought:
time reflecting upon them and then turn those thoughts into a prayer that you
offer to God by way of a commitment to live a life that would speak of
righteousness and good after you have gone to heaven.