What would you be remembered for?

Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof" (Nehemiah 13:14). 

Every living being has two kinds of a past. There is the past that already is, and there is another past that is yet to be, but shall be. The first is gone, already completely out of our control. But the second 'past' is still in formation and can, to a reasonable extent, be created to our taste. Today is the womb from which tomorrow shall be born. But it is also the beginning of what shall be called 'yesterday' tomorrow, the beginning of the 'past' that shall be. The past is no more than the offspring of the present. When you are conscious of the present and you do what is right in the present, you create a past that shall come to be. The question is, what kind of a past would you want to follow you? Put differently, what would you want to be remembered for? 

Again, we may ask, what have you been remembered for thus far? In the schools you have attended, the places you have worked, the neighborhoods or communities you have lived, what have been your legacies? What memories have you left behind? If you don't like what you are being presently remembered for, your being alive is an opportunity to create the kind of history you desire. While you may not be able to do anything about the past that is gone, you certainly can do something about the 'past' that is being currently created. All you need to do is to live the life you want to leave behind. I say that again, begin to live right now the very life you want to leave behind. When tomorrow comes and you are no longer here, you will be remembered for the life you lived today. 

Prior to Nehemiah's involvements in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and the restoration of sanity in the temple, we know nothing about his past. Maybe he had no past worthy of note. Maybe he even had a terrible, ugly past. But when God presented him with the opportunity to create the kind of a past he would love, he seized the opportunity with both hands. He laboured to create the kind of history he would want to follow him. He served tirelessly. He provided leadership and motivated his kinsmen in a righteous cause. He sacrificed and voluntarily gave up his rights. He stood up for the weak and the oppressed. He demonstrated faith in God and encouraged others to do same. He had no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, neither did he partner with people who mocked God or desecrated holy things. And as Nehemiah laboured, he could find the boldness to pray to God, "Remember me, O my God, concerning this..." (Nehemiah 13:14). 

What would God remember you for? What would people remember you for? You've got the chance to create the answers you want. The life you have now is given to you that you may determine your legacies. The ball is in your court. Play it well, so that when you look back in time to come, you will have no regrets.