Well Done
One of my crowning moments as a youth pastor transpired when one of our young ladies that grew up in church and the youth group graduated from her high school. There were over 1000 people in attendance and in front of all her peers and guests, she got up and sang the Christian song “Well Done” by the Afters. It was such a fitting song for the occasion and for her, but I was mostly impressed for her to have the courage to exhibit her faith in Jesus in front of everyone and be proud of who she was as a Christian.
Pretty cool perk of being a youth pastor. I have a lot of those proud moments. I would say one of my greatest joys as a youth pastor has been watching the young people grow up and seeing what God does in their life. Lots of “well done” moments in the lives of the FBC Youth.
The main purpose of writing this blog, however, is to focus more on the meaning and the message of that song. The writer alludes to the day when we will stand face-to-face with Jesus and get to hear Him say, “Well done.”
This has been a pretty crazy year in my life as both of my parents have passed and gone to Heaven. The most recent was my mother back in July. I would say about a week after she passed, I was driving in my car and this song came on the radio and at that point it really developed a whole new meaning for me. I couldn’t help but think of my mother standing before Jesus and hearing the “Well done.” She truly has “waited her whole life to hear Him say, Well Done.”
I have always said that my mom is one of the sweetest, most generous, loving, selfless, and God-fearing Christians I have ever met, and those are just a few of the adjectives I could think of. I have also many times felt sorry for her as her life has not always been the greatest or easiest. She’s had a decent bit of pain and suffering in her life both emotionally and physically. It seems like even back into my teen years I remember her having health issues and she’s been in and out of the hospital every year for the past 10 years. She seemed to live in constant pain and it was one health problem after another. Yet, you never really heard her complain and she really just wanted to be with her family and friends. She truly lived her life for others especially when it came to her children and grandchildren.
One of our last conversations we ever had was her telling me that I was fortunate to have a lot of strong influences in my life, and she went on to name some of those men who have influenced me. I’ll never forget the look on her face when I told her that SHE was the greatest influence in my life. It blew me away because it was a look of utter shock. She viewed herself so lowly that the idea of her being the one that has made the biggest impact in my world was mind blowing.
I wish I could have been there when Jesus looked at my Mom and told her “Well Done.” She truly lived a good life that was to please Jesus and now she is walking with Him in Heaven. No more pain, suffering, pills, hospital rooms, wheel chairs, or walkers. Just the joy of hearing, “Well Done.”