Pocket Theology / Reflections of the Lord's Prisoner

Am I okay with the idea that I will be forgotten after I die? As of today (8/26/26) I am 28 years old. This means that (Lord willing) a year from now, I will have outlived Keith Green by one year. For those unfamiliar with Keith Green’s life and ministry, I would encourage you to read the book No Compromise by his widow, Melody Green (you should also listen to all of his music). I think it is safe to say that during his life, there were few others—if any at all—whose lives matched the level of impact that Keith Green had in his short time here on earth. Even today, I cannot think of anyone whose life has even come close to having that much prominence in the faith community. Yet, as I think about what it means to leave a legacy behind, I am utterly convinced of the probability that not long after I pass on, I will be forgotten. Maybe not by everyone. Maybe some will remember me until they die themselves. But for the rest of the world, I will leave and time will continue on as though I had never existed in the first place.

This thought does not trouble me. As I have grown, I have come to understand that there is more to life than having a lasting personal legacy. In fact, I am more convinced than ever before that the calling to “Preach the Gospel, Die, and Be Forgotten” is the most worthwhile thing I could spend my life pursuing. This short quote not only speaks to the frailty of personal human legacy, but also the freedom we can have when we realize how short life is from the perspective of eternity.

When we understand that life is fleeting and no one remembers you after you die, we can become free. Free from the embarrassment that would keep us from doing the many things we will regret having not done later in life. We are free to pursue the things that really matter in life because we unconcerned with the things that don’t. We are free from the fear of failure which can paralyze us.

We are incapable of this kind of freedom when we are worried about any kind of personal legacy or—in modern terms—what others think of us. This is not to say that you should never consider the opinions of others, but I think that many of us have become social gluttons. We are so concerned with what people on earth think of us that we leave no room to consider how our Father in heaven sees us. “God looks at you as if you were a little Christ: Christ stands beside you to turn you into one” (C.S. Lewis – Mere Christianity).

So live your life with the freedom of knowing that though you may be forgotten on earth, your name is written in heaven; which is the better reward anyways. Let your legacy fade so that when others look at the work you have left behind they do not see you, but what Christ did in, and with, and through you during your years on earth.