17/01/2024 - THE MEMORY OF THE RIGHTEOUS

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The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot. Proverbs 10.7

There is nothing better than going through life practicing the Word of God. This gives the Lord’s servant the title of righteous. The apathetic Christian is never interested in doing good to those in need, so he will have a lot of problems at the judgment seat of Christ, where he will give an account of his actions, receiving rewards or flogging (2 Corinthians 5:10). Now, here’s the reward for those who do good: their memory will be blessed and remembered for eternity. Act this way!

The title of righteous person is one of the most distinguished we can receive, because it names us as friends of God and assures us that we will be helped by Him in our difficulties, as it is written: A man who has many friends may congratulate himself, but there is a friend closer than a brother (Proverbs 18.24). A brother helps another, but a true Friend is closer than the best of them! 

A friend who is indifferent is useless, because what matters to him is helping himself, without thinking about the suffering of others. We must be brothers and sisters to those who have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. If the prayer of one righteous person avails much (James 5:16), imagine the prayer of two. The power we have received from our heavenly Father needs to be used on behalf of the lost, but if we also use it on behalf of our brothers and sisters, we will honor God!

Honoring the Lord’s Name, which is one of the easiest things to do, will make His glory known to more people. Those who don’t yet know Jesus see Christians as other religious people: people who only do things for themselves. But this cannot happen among the saved. We are Christ’s witnesses, His servants who care about the well-being of others, both here and in eternity. Take care!

By saying that the memory of the righteous is blessed, we can understand this in two ways: the first is that they will not suffer memory loss, as many people do. The fact that he helps those who can’t reach God will cause the divine power to preserve their memory, keeping it healthy. The second way is that people will always hear about something the righteous person has done and will then bless the Lord, because this servant lives among us. This is very important!

The warning weighs heavily on those who know the Word but live as the devil wants them to: without ever doing good to anyone. Unfortunately, even among Christians we see people who only think of themselves, without caring about those who don’t know the Most High. This is tragic because, in many cases, they will not be approved at the judgment seat of Christ, but will be sent to Judgment, where they will be sentenced to the lake that burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:11-15).

Solomon’s comparison between the righteous and the wicked must be taken seriously, because nothing can be done for those who prefer to return to the mud from which they were pulled out (2 Peter 2:20-22). It doesn’t matter what a person’s name is, but what they do while living in this world full of evils and opportunities. It all depends on the life you have chosen. There will be no other chance to repent than here. You are responsible for what happens to you! 

In Christ, with love,

R.R. Soares