Are We Being Watched?
We just spent a week with my sister in law and her husband in Michigan. The weather was beautiful so we had many days to enjoy water sports, rounds of golf and a competitive croquet match! It is also a time to catch up on each other’s lives and to have an occasional philosophical discussion on life.
One day, we discussed heaven and the possibility that our loved ones, who had already passed on, were watching our lives from above. Neither my husband nor I have parents left. His dad, who passed on last year, was the last remaining parent/grandparent left in our small family. My husband’s sister, Sue, whose kitchen table at her lake house, belonged to her deceased mom and dad, joked that her dad would be unhappy if he saw my water glass on the table without a coaster!
All joking aside, there is scriptural evidence that our lives are on display. Hebrews 12:1,2 affirms this thought: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” I want to believe that my parents and grandparents and ancestors before that are in that great crowd of witnesses cheering me on to do the right thing in my faith journey!
One of the ancestors I never met was my great great grandfather, Abram Weaver. Abram Weather was an itinerant pastor who began his life in Salisbury, North Carolina, but his ministry travel eventually brought him to Georgetown, Texas. I came across his three page autobiography a few years ago and after reading it, realized my goal would be to have the kind of great faith Abram Weaver had. He summarized his life in the last paragraph of his writing: “I was engaged in the active work of the ministry just fifty years. During that time, I preached more than three thousand sermons to more than three hundred thousand people. I superintended the building of three, up to date, new churches and married a great many, smoothed the dying pillow of hundreds, who I shall see again, “Beyond the sunset’s purple rim.” I lament my inefficiency, repent my mistakes, love my Redeemer and hope to find rest in Heaven.”
I believe Abram Weaver is in that great cloud of witnesses along with all of those relatives who have professed their faith in Jesus Christ and who have gone before me. My great great grandfather’s amazing testimony encourages me to persevere, as I attempt to do the work the Lord has set before me. What about you, who is watching you right now as you make your journey through life?