In the Book
At that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. – Daniel 12:1
Recently my daughter and son-in-law took a road trip across parts of the western and central United States. The trip included the town where I grew
to my teen years. After they arrived, they called from a Dairy Queen in South Dakota to tell me that they had asked about my family, but that no
one there remembered us! My family had owned businesses and lived there for over fifty years. Everyone had known my grandmother; she was a midwife
and had delivered babies for many of the families who lived there. So I was surprised that no one was left who recalled our family.
My daughter mailed me a huge book entitled, “The History of Sisseton.” Excitedly, I rushed to look up my family name. There it was! The names of my
aunts and uncles were all listed (even the names of two who had died as young men), but I was devastated to see that they had forgotten to include
my father’s name. He was the oldest in the family of twelve, but in that book of over 700 pages, my father’s name was missing.
Immediately, my thoughts went to the importance of knowing that my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. If no one here on earth remembers me
fifty years after I am gone, it really will not matter. If my name is missing from the history books, the sun will still come up each morning.
If I am not listed on a plaque in some famous park for everyone to see, it will not stop the world from turning. However, I do not want to stand
before the Lord someday and have Him say that my name is not in His Book and that He never knew me. What an eternal tragedy that would be!
How about you? Is it really important that your name be noticed in the phone book, the newspaper, or in the national media? Rather, we should rejoice
that our names are written in Heaven.