The Dash

Almost two weeks ago, the majority of the world was shocked to hear the news that Chadwick Boseman had died. Reading the tributes and stories about all the good things he had done and accomplished, really made me start to think about the word impact. Truly he left an impact on a lot of people. When you look at the dash between his date of birth, and the date he took his last breath, we see just how great of an impact he had.

Impact is defined by dictionary.com as:

1. to drive or press closely or firmly into something; pack in.

2. to fill up; congest; throng

3. to have an impact or effect on; influence; alter

Chadwick Boseman definitely could pack in and fill up a movie theater. He also was a positive influence among young people and was very instrumental in altering views about the value of life. Lupita Nyong’o states this about how he impacted her life:

"Chadwick was a man who made the most of his time, and somehow also managed to take his time," she wrote. "I didn't know him for long, but he had a profound effect on me in the time that I did. When we came together to make Black Panther, I remember being struck by his quiet, powerful presence. He had no airs about him, but there was a higher frequency that he seemed to operate from. You got the sense that he was fully present and also somehow fully aware of things in the distant future. As a result, I noticed that Chadwick never seemed rushed! He commanded his time with ease."

Lupita’s account reminds me of how we as believers should live. We are to be in tune with the frequency of God, and we accomplish this by establishing a relationship with the Holy Spirit. The more in tune we are with the Holy Spirit, we can live in this world, but yet be privy to what is yet to come. As a result, we will find ourselves less anxious, but simply resting in the sovereignty of God.

When I look at these definitions, I can’t help but to think about how they also define the impact Jesus made when he walked the earth. Wherever he went, people followed in droves, to be influenced by his teachings or to receive healing. The woman with the issue of blood pressed her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of his garment, in hopes of being healed (Matthew 9:20). Now, over 2000 years later many are still impacted by his teachings and meeting online in droves. Despite being in the midst of a pandemic many are giving their life to Jesus online. Talk about impact! This is only possible because the true believers have not allowed the impact of the church building being closed to affect how they can still impact the lives of those that don’t know Jesus.

As a believer, I started thinking about my dash. What would people say? What would they remember most? How have I impacted the lives of others? When I stand before God, will He say well done my good and faithful servant? I’m reminded of the scripture where Jesus tells the disciples that when they’ve clothed the hungry and fed the naked, it’s as if they were doing it for Jesus himself. I want to be sure I leave this life empty, fulfilling all the God has destined me to do. Scripture says, teach me to number my days (Psalm 90:12), but I think Chadwick Boseman said it best: “You have to cherish things in a different way when you know the clock is ticking”. As believers, we have to remember that we don’t know the day or the hour so our lives must be lived with intention to leave the greatest impact we can, as we are God’s ambassadors in the earth. Your challenge this week is to think about your dash. Will people see Jesus? Will they be positively influenced by your life? Until next week…

Be blessed, but first comes obedience!

Rev. Robin