The One to be Remembered

Count Nicolaus Zinzendorf, born in Europe in 1700, became one of the heroes of missions history. After encountering Christ and giving his life entirely to him, he mobilized and installed his passion for Jesus and the nations into a group of young Moravians, who became some of the most courageous and effective missionaries of that time. (http://www.thetravelingteam.org/articles/count-zinzendorf) 

I don't hear people talk about Count Zinzendorf that often, and maybe it's because he lived by something that he once said...

"Preach the gospel, die and be forgotten." 

Sometimes I really want to be somebody great. I want to do great things for God and be remembered for those things. We are taught to live our lives so that we will be remembered. That's why what Zinzendorf said really stands out, striking me as something polar opposite to how we so often think and feel.  

As I look at my life, especially my time in Africa, I realize that I don't really want to be remembered after all. I want to be forgotten so that Christ can be remembered. I want to fade into the background as he steps into the spotlight. I want to preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten. 

At the end of the day, if people forget that we were here but remember how God showed up, we have done our job well. 

"He must become greater, I must become less." - John the Baptist