Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski was invited by the Sioux Chief Standing Bear to carve a memorial to the Indian People. A television documentary covered the progress of the carving of Crazy Horse into a hue granite face of the Yellow Stone Mountains. Clearly this work was going to exceed the life span of the sculptor. He has since died and the sculpture is far from complete. Yet his children continue his work. Current estimates are that it will be completed without federal funding by the year 2050. The sculpture of the warrior astride a stallion will be 563 feet tall. That’s eight feet higher than the Washington Monument and nine times as high as the faces of the four American Presidents carved in Mount Rushmore, just a few miles north of Crazy Horse.
Why go to such effort? In an interview late sculptor said this:
When your life on earth is over, the world will ask just one question.
Did you do what you were supposed to do?
When Michaelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel he was told: Don’t you know you can lose your life?!? His reply? What else is life for?
These two artists from different eras had a similar view of their work. The question to you this morning is this. What is your life work?
Some people do great things, but have no contentment. Others know that they have accomplished what they were created to do. Paul the apostle, and pioneer of the early church said this. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. Yet Michaelangelo had no assurance of his spiritual prospects after death. John Wesley founded a movement that far exceeded his years. His counterpart, Whitfield, did amazing things, and yet even a brief look at his life finds a lack of contentment, he himself said that he had built a rope made of sand. Jesus’ words to His Father was this, I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you have sent me to do.
By contrast Pancho Villa’s last words on earth when the US Military had tried him and sentenced him to death were this. “Don’t let it end this way, Tell them I said something.” How about you, will you be searching for words on your death bed or will you say as Christ said, I have brought you glory, because I have done what you sent me to do?
You say I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. How do I find out?
Well let’s look at a few things, First, there’s your part. ‘
This includes your cooperation in simple steps of obedience that increase your understanding, preparing for and walking into the Creator’s purposes for you. Your availability in God’s hands as he weaves together the tapestry of your life, pulls, knots, and polishes the strands of your being. Submission, Obedience and availability. That’s your part. Do you want to live a life that leaves a mark? Commit your life to making Jesus the central figure of who you are, Submit yourself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and Give yourself to only that which is pleasing to the Father.
So there’s our Part, then there’s the Sovereign Part.
This consists of the deliberate drawing together of those threads, the tapestry that is your life, that have been woven together for as long as you have been alive in a way that reveals your calling. What are the God given passions deep down inside. What has He equipped you to do. What are you weaknesses that when submitted His strength is found. The wonderful thing about the sovereignty of God is that it will always be revealed if we commit ourselves to seeing it.
Your part, the Sovereign Part, The end part.
Listening, understanding, realizing that yes indeed, this thing being birthed within me is what my life is for. It is my divine calling, it is my life’s work.
Leaving your mark is not setting about to do great things. Leaving one’s mark comes through setting one’s face toward a walk of obedience that is carried to completion.
I heard recently a dear friend say that one of the reasons the church isn’t realizing it’s full potential is because we aren’t focusing on the right things, we aren’t focusing on anything consistently.
Why are men not content, because they lost their focus. No longer are our families our focus, but our careers, our money, our position are now our focus. Why are families falling apart? Because we have lost our focus, families don’t even eat together at the dinner table anymore, we’re too busy running off to soccer games or dance recitals. Why are we so tired? Because we think that true rest only comes when we’re on vacation. If we can’t rest in our homes, how dare we think we can rest anywhere else.
Setting one’s face towards a walk of obedience requires focus that will last until the end.
Without vision, the people will perish, how often have we heard this preached. How often have we been told that we must conquer the world. So we set forth with our mighty programs, and ideas of grandeur and we attack hell with barrels blazing only to find that we are carrying water pistols. I think what that verse is saying is simply this, we must have a vision, for our families, for ourselves, and for those we do life together with, and that in and of itself will change the world.
Our focus must be sure, our focus must be consistent, and our focus must centered in Christ.
To leave our mark we must know our purpose, our life’s work. To accomplish that we must obey, and listen. Once we know our life’s work we must commit to it, with our focus never wavering, even if the grass is greener on the other side and there are better offers on the table.
God has given us each the privilege of serving Him. With that He has given each of specific Callings, we are all called to something.
I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith, I have finished my course. Those are the words of a man who knew he had left a mark. What will yours be?
