Episode #38 - Footprints On The Oregon Coast

One of our favorite outings on our trip back west was to the Oregon Coast. We found ourselves in Lincoln City as my Dad showed my daughter how to make footprints in the sand. They were clear and defined until the water would come up and wash them away. I followed suit, and though mine were even bigger, the water stilled washed them away. Well...death will come to all, no matter who you are, it is the great equalizer. Our memory on earth will be forgotten & washed away no matter what you've done, but how will your creator remember you in judgment? 

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Transcript

Welcome back to all of our listeners! I’m BJ Sipe, and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above podcast – where everyday ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in today, I am excited to share my life and my faith with you, and I sure hope that you’ll do the same with me along the way. 

Yesterday I told y’all that we seemed to be fighting something off and I wasn’t sure what it was. Well, yesterday we found out. It turns out that all four of us have strep throat. Yeah. Sharing is caring, so we did just that. We are all on medication and I’m already feeling considerably better, but prayers would certainly be appreciated for my kiddos and my wife. Over the next few days, I hope to share with you just a few moments from our trip to Oregon that taught me some powerful lessons. Of course, there are lessons to learn everyday from all around us, but I just wanted to share two or three highlights, with you for the rest of this week before we go back to daily current events next week. The first one has to do with our trip to one of my favorite places in the entire world: the Oregon Coast. If you have never been to the Oregon coast or driven down highway 101, you’ve definitely got to put that on your bucket list. It is one of the most beautiful places you will ever see, the coastline is far more magnificent than anything you could imagine. There are so many wonderful places to visit: Astoria, Cannon Beach, Seaside, Newport, Tillamook, and Lincoln City are among my favorite. For this trip, we found ourselves in Lincoln City eating clam chowder at the famous Mo’s Restaurant in the Taft District. Every side of the restaurant is composed of floor to ceiling windows, giving you a stunning view of the coastline as you chow down on clam strips, clam chowder, and halibut. Usually the place is packed, so you have time to walk down the pier or play along the shoreline on the sand before your meal. This time they were able to get us in quickly, so we ate our meal and then went down to the water afterwards. Now the water on the coast is not like the water in Florida or Southern California, you don’t just jump right in because it’s freezing cold. But it’s not too cold to not at least stick your feet in for a minute or two. I think the coast was the highlight of our trip for the kids – my daughter loves playing in the sand and my son loves eating the sand (yes, the same one who I have to stop from eating dog food – that kid is something else). I sat back and watched as my folks laughed and played with their grandkids. At one point my dad took Ava down to the water and they were sticking their feet in the sand and making footprints. He was pointing out to Ava how she can make big, deep impressions with her feet in the sand – and then he would have her step back as the water crested back and washed up on the shore. She would laugh and splash, but then as soon as the water rolled back down…the footprints were gone. Those deep, unmistakable footprints were now just a smooth layer of sand that had filled in the gaps where she once stood. This process repeated for several minutes until their feet got too cold and they wandered back up to where we had made camp along the shore. I took another minute and dug my feet in, feeling the cool sand between my toes. I stepped back and looked down. The footprints I had left were much larger than the one’s Ava had left. They stood deep in the sand where I had dug my feet in, until the water crashed back up upon the shore. I kept my eyes fixed on the place I had once stood, and as the water rolled back, sure enough…it was gone. Amazing, isn’t it? It didn’t matter that my footprints dug deeper and larger than my daughters. Both of them were completely washed away and soon forgotten. 

As I stood there looking out into the water, the words of Solomon came to mind from his book entitled, Ecclesiastes. He writes, “Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.” (Ecclesiastes 3:16-20). No matter what we do in this life, no matter what kind of an impact that we make or no matter how great we might be in the eyes of men, death is the great equalizer. All are from dust, and to dust all will return. The fool and the wise are buried in the same earth, as are the rich and the poor, or the weak and the strong. Reality is that no matter what we do in this life, it is only a short matter of time before your name and your legacy will be forgotten. In death all is washed away, and soon your name is but a whisper or a faint memory as another generation comes and goes. Immortality is not to be found in life under the sun. Just take a walk through a random cemetery at some point and look at all the names…do you know any of them? You probably know none of them, and those you do you likely only know of, but did not know well. From man’s perspective, this is a depressing thought, isn’t it? What’s the point of it all? Or is it, as Solomon says, just vanity? That’s the idea that some have, just enjoy life and do what you want with the few short years you are given. But I want you to consider also the conclusion of this book that Solomon comes to. He writes, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) In the end, the way in which we live this life is not vain but is of great importance. While we are not promised immortality in this life, we can have eternal life in the one that is to come. While our memory will be forgotten by the generations to come on this earth, it is not forgotten by our creator. One day all of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for the way that we lived our life, either good or evil. Knowing this, that certainly changes our perspective on the way in which we conduct ourselves now, doesn’t it? Only those who are found in Christ, who have obeyed his gospel and made him their Lord will have the hope of salvation & eternal life. For those who reject Jesus, and live their lives only for themselves in their few short years, sadly they too will be forgotten – but only by man, but by their creator. For Jesus taught us as recorded in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Death is inescapable – and the deep imprints you have left in this life will be washed away with it. I would take some time today then to consider this: how will you be remembered? Not by your family, your nation, or another other group of people here on this earth – but how will you be remembered by your creator? Because one day judgment will also be inevitable, and the only thing that matters in the end is will he remember me? 

Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Fridays, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and weekly video sessions that are uploaded on Saturdays. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.