Giving in His Name

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you:

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6).

I spent the last few days going through the last of my mom’s clothes and personal belongings, sorting and searching and bagging up the vast majority of it to donate to the Salvation Army. (To be honest, there wasn’t much left, as she’d already given away most of it while she was still here with us.) I set everything out on the front porch, called for a pick-up, and as of yesterday morning, it was gone.

Strange feeling, isn’t it? We know we’re only here for a short time and that eternal life lies beyond, far better than anything we can experience in this temporal setting. But the old saying, “You can’t take it with you,” takes on a new depth of reality when we look upon the material goods a loved one has left behind after “graduating to heaven.”

Knowing that nothing we amass here on earth—whether billions of dollars or just enough to eke out a meager existence—will accompany us on that final journey through the valley of the shadow of death should give us pause, as we consider those things that have eternal value. Peter nailed it when he said to the crippled man, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

It is those things we do in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that will follow us to heaven. The time we told others about the Father’s great love, so great that He would send His only Son to die for us; the times we cried and prayed for lost loved ones and even nations lost in darkness; the gifts we gave out of our own needs rather than our abundance. The One whose name we do it in—Jesus Christ of Nazareth—sees it all, though at times it may seem that no one sees or cares.

Silver and gold will be left behind when we breathe our last, but our legacy of all we did in the name of Jesus will continue throughout eternity. And it is the one thing that will remain when our deeds are judged and we receive the crown of heaven—which we will promptly and joyously lay at the Savior’s feet.

May we daily give whatever we can in the matchless name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!