Forgotten Names, Lasting Mercy
“There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.”Ecclesiastes 1:11 (KJV)
Most of us won’t be remembered for long. Think how little you know about your great-grandparents. Solomon saw it plainly: “There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.”
That could feel bleak. David says the same thing and then turns it: “As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone.” Then: “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.”
Our names fade, but what God does through us doesn’t. A word of truth, a faithful example, a prayer for a grandchild you’ll never meet. Character gets passed on long after the name is gone.
So don’t live to be remembered. Live so that the mercy of God reaches the children’s children through you.
Read it yourself
Read Psalm 103:13–18. Who does David say the mercy of the LORD is upon?
What do you hope gets passed on from your life, even if your name is forgotten?
Lord, my days are like grass. Let your mercy and righteousness reach my children’s children. Amen.