God's Hall of Fame

“For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” 

That verse from II Cor. 10:18 was the Verse of the Day on my iPhone this morning.  My daughter and I discussed it briefly at breakfast; then, while driving to school, a song on the radio presented a striking contrast of ideas....  

Yeah, You could be the greatest
You can be the best
You can be the king kong banging on your chest

It goes on in similar vein (vain?) for several more lines.  Then the chorus:

Standing in the hall of fame
And the world's gonna know your name
Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world's gonna know your name
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame

The song, “Hall of Fame”, by The Script and will.i.am, with its energy, rap rhythm and catchy tune, is optimistic and inspiring.  It has a message some of us tell our kids:  “Shoot for the stars!  Go make a name for yourself!” 

There are worse messages out there.  It is good to encourage people to strive to do their best.  But, life doesn't always work out, does it?  Perhaps you used to have that sort of drive and ambition.  Now, it is hard sometimes to even get out of bed because of the pain.

What’s worse, you may have people in your life who blame you for the pain you are experiencing.  There is just enough truth in their criticism that it really hurts.  You know there are things you could have done differently.  Perhaps there are actions you could take now.  But people have no clue how hard it is.  They don’t understand the pain. They are like Job’s friends, condemning you for your situation. 

That is why those words from Paul (above) are of such encouragement to me.  We don’t need fame.  We don’t need approval from friends and acquaintances. We can live our lives in the quiet and peaceful hope that we will someday have the approval, the commendation, of God.  His opinion is all that matters.  

God’s approval, His commendation, will be one of your greatest rewards.  Continue being faithful and you will someday stand in God's Hall of Fame!