A friend of mine asked me: “Sean, what are you most afraid of?” I told him, “I fear dying a painful and agonizing death without God by my side to tell me ‘it’s alright.’”
“Why do you ask?”
He said: “Because I wanted to tell you that my fear is oblivion.”
“What’s that?” I asked
“It’s fear of being forgotten. When you’re done with this world, you’re just forgotten. I fear that.”
The long road of eternity or the shroud of oblivion?
God has put something in our hearts that longs for eternity. We humans somehow know within us that we were not meant to be forgotten. We know that we were made for something bigger – be honest with yourself, somehow at some point in your life you’ve thought of that and you’ve felt it.
We were created by an eternal God to spend an eternal lifetime with Him in paradise. WE LONG FOR THAT! Even in this temporal and fallen world we feel it! My friend was afraid of being forgottten because it is the opposite of what we were made for. We were made to leave a legacy not a legend.
Everyone wants a shot to fame don’t we? That’s because we think that’s how to be remembered for the longest time. Yes, that can be true but how long is long? About a hundred years? Two? Maybe a thousand or two? People know a handful of guys from three thousand years ago. How is that compared to eternity? It is but a short strand compared to an endless highway.
The fear of oblivion can only be present when you know you will be forgotten. If you are assured that you will be remembered, the fear will not exist. In my case, I do not fear it. In this world, my fame might not spread and I don’t need it to because everything in this world will fade away. In other words, everything this world holds is subject to oblivion. What I’m concerned about is if the eternal being – God, will remember me. If God remembers me then I am satisfied and my fear of being forgotten has been buried.
I know God remembers me the moment He created me. Problem is, HOW will He remember me? I want to be remembered as a warrior – someone who fought for what my God is. Someone who was fierce in His trust and relationship with his Lord. Someone who was dangerous in his belief that no one who opposes him will remain clueless about what has happened. I want to be remembered by my God. I do not fear oblivion. I hope and pray that you will want that eternity with me.
