What qualities do we most like about ourselves?
Go ahead. Pause and make a mental list.
We like _______, yes this quality.
Oh yes, then we most enjoy _______ that quality. 
But wait, what about the quality of ________?  We most like that one.
Now that we have named our three most favorite qualities we like most about ourselves, would there be a list of characteristics that we would like to alter, to eradicate, or to hide from the world?
No, we won’t name them, even though those mental images readily come to our minds.
We know they exist.
We deal with they daily.
We see them when we look into the mirror and consider our past.
We see them when we shut our eyes.
We hear others even mention them aloud.
We know our “bad” qualities, and there is NO WAY we would ever hope for these negative qualities to be engraved upon our tombstones or spoken at our celebration of life ceremonies. 
NO WAY!!!!!
But what would we most wish for the world to remember about our brief time topsoil?

Nancy Ellen New
1966 (-)  2069

(If I am afforded a life to the age of 103 years.)
A this.
A that.
Wife of.
Mother of.
Daughter of.
Sister of.
Friend of & Teacher of.

This and That and Born to and Married to and All the Things We Have Accomplished. 
It is amazing that ALL of the words spoken at our final celebration, words that attempt to memorialize our lives are spoken because of one tiny little line upon our tombstones. 
(-)
There it is:  (-)…..LIFE.

Wow.  It really is so brief, terribly brief.
Now that does not mean we should go out today and begin to live a life of danger or of leisure or of pleasure.
No, realization of the brevity of life should make us stop and ponder the tiny little mark (-) we can make in the world (the difference)   &   our tiny little part (-) in this world.
There are several Halls of fame across the world, halls filled with photographs and plaques that state who so and so was in the world and what so and so did to contribute to the world during their time alive.  Yet, by far, one of the most significant hall of fame can be found inside the Bible we carry each Sunday to church—the hall of fame found within Hebrews 11.
As a header, my translation labels the chapter as “The Triumphs of Faith,” and as soon as we step into this hall, we see these words introducing us to this most beautiful hall.

There we have it….the truth about the only hall of fame that truly matters and how we can become an eternal life—-member, one whose name can be listed there forever.

• We enter this Hall because of our faith demonstrated. 
• We enter this Hall because of the assurance of the things we hope for, things not obtained during our brevity of time upon earth, but things assured to us by Jehovah God.
• We enter this Hall by the conviction we experience, not by what we can see with our eyes, but by what the Holy Spirit of God reveals to us.
• We enter this Hall by faith, by what has already been made secure for us by Almighty God.
• We enter this Hall by the invisible things, the things not seen.
• We enter this Hall by the Grace and Mercy of God.
• We enter this Hall by what was prepared by the word of God.

There is truly only one place where we should ever want our name recorded, and that place is within God’s Book of Life.

Thank You, God, You have assured me through Your Holy Word that my name is recorded there.
What about you—Is your name also recorded there?

In “The Triumphs of Faith,” the first name recorded is a man we know well—Abel.
While it is true, Abel was the son of Adam and Eve.
While it is true Abel was the brother of Cain and Seth (to name a few).
While it is true that Abel was a keeper of the flocks, an animal herder by trade, one who “brought of his firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions.  And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering”  (Genesis 4:4).
The most significant reason Abel’s name is recorded within this Hall of “The Triumphs” is because of Abel’s faith in God.
As revealed by God, the author of Hebrews records—-

• By faith….God provides His Salvation. 
• By faith….we are made perfect through Jesus.
• By faith….our existence is established in heaven.
• By faith….God makes our eternity secure.
• By faith….our life still speaks, though we are dead.
• By faith….our tiny (-) gains significance.
• By faith….our tiny dash upon our tombstone tells our whole life story.
• By our faith….we are numbered with those who will walk together with us in heaven
• By our faith….in God….our soul resides forevermore within the presence of God.
• By….Our….FAITH.

Freely Gifted to each one of us by the Mercy and Grace of God.
God does not give to us what we deserve because of the life lived, yes because of our tiny (-)…..That’s God’s Mercy, and thank goodness, God’s mercy is new every morning. 
God freely grants each of His Grace, giving to us that which we could never afford,  &  given to us when we accept Him by our faith.
God’s Grace is so much larger, so much greater than our tiny (-).
God’s Mercy & God’s Grace.

Today, may we know for sure what comes after our (-) life dash.
Today, may we know the assurance of our eternity with God, our Father, the Creator of all life.
Today, may we know for sure that everyone who speaks of us after our death can speak a solitary word, one that comes because of our life decision to Accept & Believe.   May all who see our tombstone or our urn of ashes proclaim—–“This person was a Christian, a follower of Almighty God, and I know it’s the truth because of how this one lived his brief life.
May a single quality be engraved beside the dates that record our life (-).
CHRISTIAN.