April 13, 2015 - Your Swan Song (How do you want to go out?)

Well I’m gonna pick up this week where I left off last week… I still long to be great! This theme continued running through my head throughout the past week and kept popping up in reading I was doing; so I figure if the Holy Spirit continues to prompt me, I will continue to prompt you!

This week I want to focus on our legacy. What will you or I be remembered by? In sports it is very common to hear the talking heads discussing when someone should retire. Common thought is that the greats should retire while they are still great… “go out on a high note!” – have a great “swan song!” The ancient Greeks believed that swans, that were typically silent or not so musical, would sing a beautiful song just before their death; and thus we still talk about the ending of a career or a life as one’s “swan song.” So if you knew your time were coming to an end would your “swan song” be beautiful – be something to be remembered?

I love the country song “Live Like You Were Dyin’.” In it the lyrics state that if you knew your “game” was almost over you should make it a point to be adventurous and accomplish things you always wanted to do. The writer states, “I went sky diving; I went Rocky Mountain climbing; I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named FuManChu…” That is some kind of “swan song”! Yet there is a whole other part of the song that focuses not on the amazing things he did, but instead on the relationships in his life and realizing that the people in his life matter; therefore he also states he “loved deeper.. spoke sweeter… gave forgiveness.”

Jesus knew His “swan song” was upon Him. He was at the “last supper” with His disciples. Last week I closed out with a reminder of Him serving… He could have saved the feeding of the 5000 or raising Lazarus from the dead as part of His “swan song.” But instead in his final hours He:

·         Went floor diving (foot washing)

·         Went Golgotha climbing

·         Went 6 grueling hours on a cross named Calvary

·         And He even found time in the middle of that to pray for you and me… John 17:20 “I do not pray for these (disciples) alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;”

So we see He also:

·         Loved deeper

·         Spoke sweeter

·         And gave forgiveness!

What a “swan song”! And of course we know that a few days later He did go out with a bang – it’s called the resurrection!

That is the pattern I long for; I want my earthly life to end not necessarily with preaching to the multitudes but in servanthood! I want my “swan song” to be remembered as one that loved and served deeper! And of course because of Jesus’ sacrifice I am assured ultimately to be resurrected – go out with a bang! (See 1 Corinthians 15:22)

Let’s Go MAD! Let’s make a difference in the world in which we live! When training at camps I often quote my friend Jason Otter and tell the players to “live low”; I do the same today to Christians, “Live low! Serve!”