What Have We Accomplished?

Friday, February 17, 2023
Listen to this devotional:
Listen while you read: "Love Divine All Loves Excelling"1 (Lyrics)

Recently, I was sitting on my couch thinking about my upcoming fiftieth birthday and what we would do to celebrate it. I recently moved from Canada to the Netherlands, and I was missing my own family and friends. I now have a new loving family and wonderful friends surrounding me, I am safe and living in a beautiful country, and I have a beautiful garden where some of God's creatures visit me daily — the birds, the stray cats, the hedgehog, the butterflies, and the bees — and I thought, Wow! I am blessed. I am grateful!

But then, I started to reflect: What have I accomplished in my five decades? That got me thinking about the contrast between my paltry achievements and the effect that Jesus had in only thirty-three years.

Matthew 9:35-36 – Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (NIV)

What can we do to make a lasting impact in our lifetime in this world, preparing us for our eternal world? Can we have compassion for others? Can we take time to speak to people we meet and spread the good news of our Lord? Can we take time out of our day to speak to Him and pray to Him? Jesus was always busy with many things, teaching people, praying with them, healing them, eating with them, and being with them.

Let us try to be more like Jesus daily and realize that it's not the number of years that we have in this world, but it's the impact that we leave on it as we prepare ourselves for eternity. Let us be good to others and kind to God's creation, so that those who follow us can enjoy all that we accomplished while they are here on earth.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to humble ourselves daily, not thinking only of ourselves, but of all those around us. Help us to make their lives better. Help us daily to prepare, knowing that in the end, we will be with You, our eternal Father, in Your glorious house where the beauty and splendour is unimaginable. Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share this devotional on Facebook     Like PresbyCan on Facebook

About the author:

Donna Arcieri <donna.arcieri@gmail.com>
South Holland, Netherlands

Send your feedback to the author

1 Comment

  • PresbyCan Feedback says:

    Thanks for sharing, Donna.


    Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us! Blessings.


    Thank you, Donna, for this important information and encouragement.


    Beautiful Donna.
    (B.C. Canada)


    Thank you for a thoughtful word today.
    Blessings.


    Thanks for your inspirational post, Donna. May God bless you with a wonderful birthday with your new family and friends!


    Donna, thank you for the reminder to daily be busy loving all others around us and to enjoy the place where God has allowed us to be.


    Thank you, Donna, for today’s devotion.
    I like it very much.
    (Quebec)


    Thanks, Donna for reminding me of this; I’ve been a Christian for 50+ years and want to bring others into God’s Kingdom.
    Bless you,
    (BC Canada)


    Very good advice in your devotional writing Donna. Yes, there are so many kind things we can do for other people rather than just thinking on ourselves. Following the actions that Jesus did as He reached out to others would definitely spread much love and care to others around us. Blessings for your special writing.


    Hi Donna,
    Congratulations on reaching half a century. Congratulations on enjoying all the friends and things in your new home. Congratulations on a very good devotional. Your questions on what we can do are spot on and help to nudge us forward in being more like Jesus and thinking of others.
    I enjoyed the idea of hedgehogs visiting your garden. I don’t believe we have any in Canada, but a person I met who lived in Austria told me about having a pet hedgehog. Blessings.


    I loved your thoughtful devotion. Your writing is very smooth and inviting. At seventy-five years old I still ask and rightly so, “What have I accomplished for Jesus in the past and what can I do in the future?” I haven’t gotten to the finish line yet. I will only be complete when my race is run, and I receive the prize. Don’t let fifty years of wisdom and living for Jesus lay dormant.
    I heard a saying that I liked.
    “As soon as the devil hears your feet hit the floor he complains, oh no she’s up”.
    Happy Birthday sweet daughter of our Heavenly Father!

Previous Post
«
Next Post
»
 



PresbyCan is a community of faithful, Holy Spirit-filled, Christ-centred, God-honouring Christians.