Nobody remembers the empire this man built…

Because he didn’t build one.

He isn’t written about in history books…

He grew up on a farm… eating so much fish caught in the nearby creek, he never wanted to eat fish again…

He dropped out of high school, and wandered the west…

Working as a clerk in a grocery store in Idaho…

And walking all the way to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back out again.

Finally, he decided he wanted to become…

A lawyer.

Without even a high school diploma, he approached one of the most prestigious universities in the country, where they let him finish high school and college and earn his law degree…

With that prestigious law degree, he could have made a lot a of money working for any of the big law firms…

But he went back to his country home town, hung out his shingle and sold insurance on the side while he waited for the law business to pick up.

He went on to earn a good enough living and supported his family well.

But he’s not remembered for those accomplishments.

He’s remembered for his character…

He is remembered for the things he did for others…

For the charity he formed for a wealthy client… a charity that still benefits the town decades after his death…

For how he raised his two daughters when their mother died while they were in grade school…

For the time and effort his gave to his church…

For the help he gave to people who needed legal advice but couldn’t afford it…

For the kindness his showed to others…

Perhaps it is not his character for which he is remembered…

Perhaps it is his soul…

A soul he built in this world, spent in this world and took with him into the next.

Who will remember you and me?

How will they remember us?

Will we spend our time building an empire that will be little remembered?

Or will we spend our time building our souls?

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?   Mark 8:36