My dear friend Philip died in January, aged 63. I had the privilege of saying a few words at his funeral. It was easy, I knew exactly what to say about him.
The great truth about his life was that he loved God and knew that God loved him. He also had a heart that loved other people. In fact, his life was summed up in God’s commands: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).
Philip was such a joy to know and was such a blessing. Philip trusted God, and whenever he had a problem or concern, he would talk to Jesus about it. He knew that Jesus would help.
It was easy to celebrate his life. When he prayed for others, he had faith that God would answer. He cared when others were suffering. He had compassion.
It made me think about what we celebrate in life. What do we think a successful life looks like? The world might say fame, riches, a good job, a lovely house and even kids we can be proud of.
We look up to celebrities or stars or sportsmen or the famous. We put certain people on pedestals. We label people as successful or not.
We test our children on their abilities. We decide if they are clever, whether they make the grade, whether they pass their exams.
We decide that IQ and intelligence can be measured, and that with a higher IQ we can be seen as clever, brighter or more able that others.
As parents, we push our children to do well at school. We are proud when they achieve. It feels good to boast about them to others when they get into university or get selected for a job with prestige. It makes us look good too.
Photo credit: Rhodi Lopez on Unsplash.com.
But when I die, I don’t want my life to be remembered by my CV or academic achievements. I want to be remembered for my faith in God, and my service for others. I want to be remembered for my heart, not my IQ.
The Bible is clear about what God wants. He judges the heart. His commandments are to love God and love others as we love ourselves.
Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
I thought about this as I was watching the squirrels leaping from tree to tree. If I compared my tree-climbing ability to theirs, I would be seen as disabled. I watched the birds flying in the sky. If I compared my flying ability to them, I would be a non-starter. I watched my dog eagerly sniffing the new smells in the undergrowth in our yard. Again, my smelling ability would be seen as lacking.
I cannot do any of those things. I cannot swim like a fish, climb walls like a lizard, make honey like a bee or run fast like a cheetah. I am so glad I am not judged on those attributes or skills.
So how do I want to be judged? How does God judge me?
I believe love is the key. Trusting God is success. Living as God wants us to live is achievement. Knowing the King of Kings, the God who made the universe and having him say, “You are my son, my daughter, whom I love. With you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). That would be my wish at the end of my life.
It was so good to be able to honestly celebrate those attributes when I spoke about Philip. It was much more meaningful than saying he had a degree, riches or fame. That would have been so empty in comparison.
Philip was one of the nicest people I have met. He made people feel good. In my eyes, he was amazing. I believe God said to Philip, “You are my son, whom I love. With you I am well pleased.” I believe he was readily welcomed into Heaven.
Philip had Down syndrome.
Sue Sutton has nearly 50 years of experience working with people with learning disabilities. She has developed training programs for people working with a variety of learning disabilities and mental health issues. Sue is the author of “Living Fulfilled Lives: Empowering People With Learning Disabilities.” Connect with her on Facebook.
