A Good Name

Perhaps you'd rather not think about this but what would you like to be said of you when you're ... gone? Of all the kings of Judah (the southern kingdom of Israel), Hezekiah was known for doing what was "right in the sight of the LORD" (2 Kings 18:3). Furthermore, Scripture says King Hezekiah "Trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses." (2 Kings 18:5-6, NASB). I fear we live in a time when too little attention is given to a "good name" or one's integrity. God says, "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold" (Proverbs 22:1, ESV). For sure, there are lots of ways to gain recognition and "make a name" for yourself - there's lots of folks that have done (and are doing) that! God also says, "A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth." (Ecclesiastes 7:1, ESV). Why is a person's death sweeter than his birth? How else is anyone named among those who love God and known for doing "what is right in the sight of the LORD" than how they spend their life between birth and death! King Hezekiah loved the Lord and proved it by the life he led; he is named in the pages of God's Word as one who "clung to the LORD" ... who "did not depart from following Him" ... who "kept His commandments." What a testimony to a rich, favorable and precious life is ... a good name!