"Good-Bye"
I saw the pain as it creased his face,
When he stepped onto his horse,
He never spoke a word to me,
About his pain, of course.
But as the weeks turned into months,
And we were closer friends,
I learned the doctors told him,
He might be near the end.
We talked of horses we had known,
And cattle wild and mean,
Old stories from the rodeo,
Big country we had seen.
Sometimes around the campfire,
He spoke of times when young,
Stories from the Bible,
And gospel songs once sung.
He. never thought much of himself,
As a Christian man and all,
But now that the end grew closer,
Said he had heard God’s call.
And knew He’d save and help him,
‘Cause he’d embraced the way,
Confessing Jesus as His Lord,
He was glad to say.
And then one final sunset,
He knew it was the time,
Many people gathered,
We laid him low just fine.
Surprised there were so many,
And lots I didn’t know,
One by one they said their piece,
Their respect to show.
One fella said he taught me,
To rope a calf and tie,
I was just a youngster,
But he showed me, that’s no lie.
He took the time when no one would,
When I was just a kid,
And now I’m a pro roper,
And thanks for what he did.
Another said he helped me,
When we had lost our place,
I was just a day hand then,
But with a smiling face,
He’d bring a sack of groceries,
And a gallon of sweet tea,
He’d sit and drink tea with us,
Said nowhere else to be.
A woman said her mother,
Had a. bull that got away,
Was gone off to a neighbor’s place,
No one could make him stay.
But when my friend heard of it,
He went and roped the beast,
And then fixed all the fences,
His pay, mom’s cobbler feast.
And on and on they told it,
Of the good that he had done,
Was I surprised, not really,
By the race that he had run.
I often think about him,
Of his pain there at the end,
He rides pain-free in heaven,
I’m glad he was my friend.
But sometimes I wonder,
What will they speak of me,
When this ride is over,
And I am gone, you see.
I’m told we can’t take with us,
Any earthly thing,
Except all that we give away,
That’s treasure we can bring.
“Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy; and thieves cannot break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:36, NLT)
The first thing is to make sure you’re going to heaven. This is accomplished by receiving the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, and allowing the Holy Spirit to give you assurance about it. We are saved by grace through faith alone, and it’s not something we earn through good works. But once we’re saved, our lives should be lived with heavenly treasure in mind, which means we live with a spiritual priority and in service to others. Someone has said (I think Winston Churchill) that you make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give. So true. Treasures in heaven are based on what we give to others in this life. This requires an ongoing death to self and empowerment by the Spirit. But the good news is that the Lord will reward us for what we allow Him to do through us. Help somebody. You’ll be glad you did.
Lord, help us to store up treasures in heaven, in Jesus’ name.