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Introduction:
A few years ago, my father and I were hiking through the area of where the first
and second battles of Bull Run were fought in the Civil War. As we were walking
down a path, we noticed the ruins of a foundation out in an overgrown field. We
decided to check it out. Obviously, some building had been there a long time ago.
We guessed it had been a church building or perhaps an old homestead, for next
to the foundation were several very worn and weathered grave stones. Their
markings were barely legible. Sometimes there was a first and last name and a
year. On a couple of markers there was just a first name
Who were these people? What was their story? What things did they do? What
brought them to this place? But other than a fading gravestone, nothing is known
about them.
How would you feel if a 150 years after your life on the earth the only specific
record about you was your first name? No biography. No eulogy No legacy. No
family tree. That may not be a comfortable thought. Most of us want to leave
some sort of mark. We want our lives to make a difference. We hope our 80 years
or so on this planet amounts to more than a name and a date. We want to be
remembered. We want others to know that we were here.
That’s what the late Steve Jobs thought, the former CEO of Apple. One of the
things he often told people who interviewed him was “I want to put a ding in the
universe.” He wanted to leave a mark. Most would certainly agree that he did
that.
But it is not how history records our life that's important. Your significance is not
determined by what others say and write about you after you’re gone. How earth
remembers us is not what matters. Ultimately, it is how heaven remembers us.
Body:
To understand this we only need to read a short list of names in Luke 6:13-16
13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of
them. whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named
Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15
Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the
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Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
(NIV)
When we read this list of Jesus’ apostles, some of the names leap right out at us.
Guys like Peter, James, John, and even Judas Iscariot. We know who these guys
are. We know what they did. History records them in detail. The Scriptures are full
of accounts of their words and teachings. But tucked away in this list are a couple
of names that are so obscure, we tend to just skim right over them and not even
notice.
They are James the son of Alphaeus, and Judas, son of James. No relation
between them. They weren’t father and son. Basically, all we know about these
two guys is their names, the names of their fathers, and that they were apostles.
What We Do Know
The fact that they were apostles, does tell us some very important things about
them. First, they gave up everything to follow Jesus (Lk. 18:28). They left their
jobs and their homes to follow Jesus and learn from him. Even when all others
turned and left they still followed him.
Secondly, we know that as apostles they were empowered first by Jesus, then by
the Holy Spirit to heal the sick, to cast out demons and perform miracles. They
were able to do what Paul called in 2 Cor 12:12, “the things that mark an apostle-
signs, wonders and miracles.”
Thirdly, because of their uncommon calling, they helped form the foundation of
the church. Ephesians 2:20 tells us that the church is built on the apostles and
prophets as a foundation with Christ as the cornerstone.
There is also one other thing we know about them, but I will save that for later.
Until Jesus called these men and set them apart, there was nothing special about
them. There was nothing remarkable about them that set them apart. They had
no great fame or accomplishment. They were just common men with an
uncommon calling.
Scanty History
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Other than their uncommon calling, they were so common we know next to
nothing about them. If they ever wrote anything, it is lost to history. If they ever
asked Jesus any insightful questions or said or did anything to stand out from the
crowd, with only one exception, the gospel writers did not record it. Basically, all
we have is their names. In one case, James is even called Little James.
James
When you compare the list of the apostles in each of the gospels with each other
and with a couple of other scriptures, we do discover a couple of curious facts.
One, we find out that James' mother, Mary, was a devoted follower of Jesus. In
fact, she is one of the women who were at the crucifixion, and she was one of the
women who came to prepare Jesus body for burial.
In Mark 15:40, in the NIV, James is called James the Younger. Other translations
have it as James the less. The Greek word used here is mikro, from which we get
micro, and it means small. Literally, he is James the small, or Little James. It may
mean that he was the younger of the two James that were apostles. He might
have been the youngest of all the apostles. He might have been the baby of the
group.
It could mean that James was short. He was literally little James. Insert Roy joke
here. However, some Bible scholars think it means that he was of little notoriety.
That certainly makes sense for what little we do know about Little James.
Early church accounts of James are sketchy at best, and we know that many of
them are legendary. Some records indicate that he may have taken the gospel to
Syria and Persia. We also have varying accounts of his death. Some say he was
stoned. Others say he was beaten to death, and still others say he was crucified.
Bottom line is we don’t know. All we know is that he died for his faith.
Judas
When we look at Judas we also find that we know very little about him other than
he had the bum luck to share the same name with the guy who would betray
Jesus. Judas had been a perfectly fine name, but Judas Iscariot had to come along
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and ruin it for the rest of history. How would you like to be named Adolph,
Jezebel, Ted Bundy, or Osama?
Luke and John both distinguish this Judas from that other Judas. They want us to
know he’s not THAT Judas. Matthew and Mark use a different name for him
altogether, probably to avoid any confusion. They call him Thaddaeus. Thaddeaus
is a nickname which means breast child. This lends support to the idea that he
was the youngest. All of the guys call him Thaddeaus. It’s an endearing but teasing
nickname. It’s kind of like calling him mama’s boy. That’s not too big of a stretch
to imagine among a group of guys who hang out together all the time is it?
John 14:22 records the only incident involving this Judas in Scripture. In the upper
room during the Last Supper, he asks Jesus, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest
yourself to us, and not to the world?” This is certainly more insightful that some of
the things the other disciples were saying at this time, but it's not a whole lot to
go on.
Here we have two men who were called to fill two of the most important roles in
all of history, yet we know almost nothing about them. History records no
accomplishment or achievement of either of these men. Their teachings and
writings have not been passed down through the generations. From an earthly
point of view, their impact was minimal at best.
An Eternal Honor
But is that what matters? Is how history remembers us what is important? Is that
what we should seek and strive for? Are you here to leave your mark?
Is that why Jesus called these two disciples, James and Judas? Certainly, he called
them in Mark 16:15 to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all
creation.” The good news they proclaimed changed history, even though history
remembers almost nothing of their specific contribution.
What matters most is not how history remembers you; it’s how eternity
remembers you. In Revelation 21, we read glorious description of the new
Jerusalem as John gets a sneak peek of our eternal home. Here’s one of the things
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John sees in verse 14, “The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them
were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”
Two of those names will be James, the son of Alpheus and Judas, son of James.
There they will be remembered and honored for all eternity. What is greater,
being remembered for a few decades or even a few centuries on earth, or being
remembered for all of eternity?
(Advance Slide) The most famous quote by artist Andy Warhol is “In the future,
everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Ironically, he’s famous for saying
something he may have never actually said. But whether your name is known
here for 15 seconds, 15 minutes, 15 years, or for 15 centuries, doesn’t really
matter. What matters is that your name is known in eternity.
You can strive all your life to find your fifteen minutes of fame, and never find it,
but there is one simple decision you can make today that will insure your name is
known for all eternity. John also tells us this about the new Jerusalem in
Revelation 21:22-27
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and
the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to
shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24
The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their
splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be
no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into
it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is
shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the
Lamb’s book of life. – Revelation 21:22-27
When you choose to follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior, your name is written in
the book of life. Having your name written there is your pass into the new
Jerusalem. That is your citizenship in the heavenly city.
If you could pick where to be famous, where would you pick? Here or Heaven?
We live lives of varying significance and influence, but at the end of our lives what
matters is not what other people say about us, but what our Lord says about us.
The words we want to hear are what Jesus says in Mt. 25:23, “Well done, good
and faithful servant…Come and share your master’s happiness.” That is the eulogy
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for which we should all live. If the only thing that is known about you is that your
name is written down, where is it written down?

The Dash
copyright 1996 by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred
to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning… to the end.
He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke of the following date
with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between
those years.
For that dash represents all the time they spent alive on earth and now
only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own, the cars… the house… the cash.
What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left that still can be rearranged.
To be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people
in our lives like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile…
remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.
So when your eulogy is being read, with your life’s actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say about how you lived your dash?

You have to pick where you want to be famous.