Have you ever stopped to look at a tombstone?

You might see something like this:

John Doe

1947-1988

Or maybe something like this:

Winston Spencer Churchill

November 30, 1874 – January 20, 1965

One of these was just a man, who was born, who lived, and who died, and who we have no knowledge of. The other also was born, lived and died, but about whom we know a great deal, for he was one of the world’s greatest statesmen. Other than a name and two dates, what do these men have in common?

Yes indeed, good work! There is a dash between the two dates. Isn’t it ironic, that the smallest little detail contains a person’s entire life story?

If you are reading this today, then your life is somewhere within the dash that will one day be placed on your tombstone. Now I’m hoping that your tombstone won’t be made for quite some time yet, but for each of us, that day will surely come.

That small dash will contain our whole legacy; what will it be?

It might be that we lived our life for the glory of God, and even though we were never famous or rich or powerful, as this world understands such things, we always put the needs of others ahead of our own needs.

It also might be that we lived entirely for ourselves, that we didn’t really give a damn about anyone other than ourselves.

What my dash stands for is up to me; what your dash stands for is up to you. It isn’t for me to judge your life, nor is it for you to judge mine, for by the time that our tombstone is finished and erected; God will have already done that particular job.

Today, we all have a chance to work on our “dash project”. What will we do today to build our legacy?