Do You Feel Like Life Is Moving on without You?

A few years ago, I was working at a church when a new pastor came in, and I was moved out of the way to make room for new staff. I hadn't done anything wrong, and I'd actually been pretty successful in my area of ministry. But I got removed, and they put in a new guy with way less experience.

I remember thinking, "They're never going to survive without me there." I expected the church to really struggle, and I thought people would call and beg me to come back. But nobody called, and the church actually grew to a huge size.

It was a pretty humbling experience to realize that I was not that important in the grand scheme. They moved on without me, and they seemed none the worse for it. King Solomon discussed the reality that people move on without us in Ecclesiastes 2.15-17. I know that sounds depressing, but Ecclesiastes is a book about keeping the realities of life here under the sun in the right perspective, and the ultimate reality of life is pretty sobering. Life always moves on without us.

"Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten. So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind." - Ecclesiastes 2.15-17

Ultimately, at some point, a handful of people will carve a few hours out of their day to attend our funeral. They'll cry and tell stories about us, then head to a restaurant to eat and move on with their lives. Sure, they'll be sad, but move on without us.

John Chrysostom reached that conclusion when he said, "If you knew how quickly people would forget about you after your death, you would not seek in your life to please anyone but God." That reality can really help us keep some priorities in perspective. Your job will replace you.

Your church will replace you. We're replaceable in nearly every area of life, and in most of our roles, we're actually not that important.

But there are some roles we aren't easily replaced in. There are some people to whom we are truly of the greatest importance, and they're the ones who will remember you more than others. Your family and your loved ones.

The more you've invested in them, the greater the impact you'll leave after your passing. A wise person realizes that eventually, we'll be gone, and people will move on without us. So, the greatest investment we can make right now is to pour our best into loving those whom God has given us primary responsibility to care for.

When you do that, you can be certain that you'll leave a legacy. May we constantly remember King David's words in Psalm 90, verse 12. Teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

"Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God." - Psalm 90:2

Part 1: Wisdom for When You Want to Check Out
Part 2: Finding Contentment in a World Full of Achievement
Part 3: Is Getting What You Want Leaving You Empty?
Part 4: How to Protect Yourself from Foolish People
Part 5: Do You Feel Like Life Is Moving on without You?

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