Rayford Strange
Jan 20th, 2023
The value of a lifetime is no greater than the cause to which it is devoted, neither is the quality of its value any greater than the fidelity of service. Which would be greater; a life dedicated to protecting and perpetuating the life of the threatened species such as the Black Rhino or the Mountain Gorilla, or a life dedicated to providing for and protecting quality of life among humans? Of course both are important but totally unequally important, in my opinion.
Obviously, you would be right in choosing the latter option since the human species is infinitely more important than any other. The creation of man is the zenith of God’s creation. Therefore, the protecting and perpetuation of human life is honorable above all else in the natural world of creation. Who cannot but be inspired by the life and dedication of such humanitarian notables as Dr. David Livingstone or Dr. Albert Schweitzer? Their stories as told in their biographies are deeply inspirational. In my own lifetime we’ve come to love and appreciate such notables as Corrie Ten Boone who, along with her family took in Jews to save them from being captured and destroyed by the Nazis as told in her famous best seller, The Hiding Place. She was also captured and spent time in a Nazi prison camp.
It was my great honor to hear Dr. Tom Dooley speak in Tokyo, Japan somewhere between 1959 and 1962 while giving the most moving and inspirational speech concerning his medical missions work among the Mountayards of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos jungles. He gave up a promising future medical career to build hospitals and treat the sick. His, like others before him, was a selfless life of dedication to human wellness.
Memories of such notables as I have mentioned above are dear to my heart though I never met them, save Tom Dooley, all of whom are now gone on to their reward.
Then beyond that, I am often concerned about the dedication of my own life since I must stand at judgment to give an account for each and every day that was given to me for to do the good and serve heaven’s purpose during my days of the life given to me for that purpose. Each and everyone of us are allotted so many hours, so many days and so many years to do that very purpose we were sent into the world.
May we take inventory of our lives and determine to live it, not seeking wealth, comforts of this life nor worldly acclaim but may we resolve to seek first the things of God and things of eternal value. The only real value of a life time is measured only by heaven’s standard, whether it be the enduring worth of gold or naught, swept away by the wind as mere dust.
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