What legacy have you left today? — Greg Gerber

This afternoon, I learned a Facebook friend died suddenly on July 1. He suffered from an aortic dissection and died quickly.

That meant there was no time for goodbyes or to offer final words of advice and encouragement.

People reflecting on his death and the man by viewing his Facebook posts will read about these topics — his final words to his online friends:

• A quote about fake ballots in New York.
• The irony of allowing abortion while insisting that people wear masks to “save lives.”
• How racism will end when a certain group of people stop using it as a political weapon.
• How an audit is just “fact checking” an election.
• Why there is nothing immoral about using your enemies’ weapons and tactics against them, or finishing what your enemy started.
• If your voice held no power, they wouldn’t try to silence you.
• When you became one with Christ, you became a master over all the powers of the world.
• Jesus did not preach love and acceptance, he preached love and repentance.
• A warning about the dangers of the Food and Drug Administration allowing Aspartame to be served to you.
• That you should ask the government why it is illegal to grow hemp.
• That people who are elected to Congress receive $1,175.68 per day for doing nothing.
• How the “gubmint and media” work to manipulate and divide people.
• A nice photo of a modern farmhouse kitchen.
• How California is banning state-sponsored travel to 17 states over their LGBTQ laws.
• Why Portland police told protestors that the victim of a police-involved shooting was an adult white male to prevent rioting.
• Statistics about the blistering hot inflation in June.
• A memory of a painting he created in 2017.
• A quote from Vladimir Lenin about the need to carefully ration precious liberty.
• How we have become very good at spitting out scriptures like a machine, but we are not doing so well in the area of our consciousness of Him. Dwelling/abiding has to do with awareness/consciousness.
• How politicians believe one person’s death is a tragedy, but a million is simply a statistic.
• The irony of requiring a vaccination card to travel, but asking for an ID to vote is “suppression.”
• Why the mainstream media is our enemy.
• A story about an FBI agent arrested for raping a small child.
• How the National Security Agency is sitting on every call, text, chat and banking transaction to protect elite pedophiles and Wall Street criminals.
• An image of a patent obtained by Microsoft to create a cryptocurrency using body cavity data.
• Advice that “if it’s God’s will for you to be sick, stop going to the doctor and fighting against God. See how stupid this sounds?”
• A graphic depicting the perpetual cycle of a sugar addiction.
• Explaining why Trump should not have signed up with Rumble because it is a Canadian company committed to censorship.
• A meme stating, “Imagine, if you will, a group of people so disgusting they have to make laws making it illegal to hate them.”
• A story about the same software being found on Michigan and Pennsylvania voting systems.
• A photo of a Marine using a flamethrower during World War II.
• A very old, colorized photo of a mining town in South Dakota in 1877.
• A post about how the second amendment was created to restrict government from interfering in the right to keep and bear arms.
• A statement that we could be on the verge of civil war within a few days if the Arizona election audit results are as bad as predicted.
• A linked story asking if Fauci and the CDC will be sued for lying about Ivermectin killing Indians.
• A video of people protesting in London against the COVID lockdowns.
• How it is believed information is automatically being sent to people all over earth following the death of software developer John McAfee, and why it means big trouble for “big players” around the globe.
• How a Chinese whistleblower claims that 5 million fake ballots were printed in China and shipped to the United States for use in the 2020 election.
• A post about how Trump was right about everything.
• A video about an event shown from three different perspectives to prove how easy it is to portray false information.
• A story about a government witness admitting to fabricating evidence against Julian Assange.
• That he was “marked safe” from being nuked by Joe Biden today.
• A quote made by Eric Trump about Hunter Biden.
• A photo of a woman holding a sign saying “You don’t believe you have been lied to and brainwashed because you have been lied to and brainwashed.
• Suggesting that John McAfee didn’t “uninstall” himself.
• “Biden is an idiot controlled by evil puppet masters. He gave Russia a list of critical infrastructure to not attack. Moron.”
• A post claiming “If you think the COVID-19 was an accident you are really dense.”
• Reposting a quote, “When professing Christians minimize, ignore and malign God’s clear teaching on sexuality, they signal to predators that it’s acceptable and unproblematic withing the Christian worldview to define our own standards for a moral sexual ethic.”
• A video about a woman who catches catfish with her bare hands.
• A story about how Nike is a company of China and for China.
• A photo of a farmhouse living room design.

All the above were posted from July 26 to July 30 — his final messages to the people on earth.

I never met the man in person. But, I do have to wonder if he found out on July 25 that he would be dead six days later, would he have posted the same messages for his friends and family to cherish as final tidbits of advice and encouragement?

What was the effectiveness of his Christian testimony buried among the other posts? Did it work to draw people to Jesus or dismiss the message?

My father’s final message

One of my most cherished possessions is a handwritten letter from my father dated January 8, 1980, when I was 19 and a half years old.

He would suffer a massive heart attack 19 days later which required a breathing tube to be inserted into his throat to keep him alive another five days.

The tube prevented him from communicating with anyone. Again, there were no goodbyes or final words. All I have is that letter.

What did my dad write to me about?

• The cold weather in Oshkosh, Wis.
• Asking how college classes were going for me.
• Encouraging me to get a job closer to home to save on gas.
• Thanking me for the Christmas gift I got him.
• Praising the new girls’ basketball team he just started coaching.
• How the world looked like it was going to hell and that we may all be working for Uncle Sam some day.
• An ominous warning that he had not been feeling good with “very bad” pains in his chest and left arm. However, he reported passing a stress test with flying colors.
• He was convinced he had a blockage on the left side of his heart, but his doctors disagreed and gave him pain medication.

His final written words to me were, “Must close for now, take care, work hard at school and work. Have fun and leave the girls alone. Loads of love always. Dad XO”

He admitted at the start of the letter that it had been a while since he had written to me. But, with his concern about a serious blockage in his heart, it is surprising that he didn’t delve into deeper subjects.

As he laid in his hospital bed drifting in and out of consciousness and unable to speak to his wife, children and step-children, I wonder what might have been going through his mind.

• Was it about the political turmoil in the United States?
• Was it the local weather?
• What is how his basketball team would perform in the next game?
• Was he fearful that his heart would soon stop for good?
• Knowing he was a captive, helpless audience, was Satan slinging accusations and lies at his mind to question his salvation and assurance of heaven?
• Did he wonder if he’d have another chance to tell his family how much he loved them?
• Did he wish he could apologize and make amends for mistakes he made?
• Was he thinking of advice he’d really like to give to people to avoid the same mistakes he made?
• Was he wondering what his friends and family would remember most about him?
• Was he concerned about what his legacy was going to be?

What legacy have you left today?

If you knew today would be the last day of your life, what would you be doing to establish or preserve your legacy?

Would you be spending hours on Facebook or other social media?

Would you be writing letters for people to relish long after you’re gone?

Would you be glued to TV news shows for fear of “missing out” or “not being informed?”

Would you be praying that God protect and provide for your loved ones once you’re gone?

Would you be scrambling to finish the Netflix series you started last month?

Would you be looking at old pictures and remembering the many people who passed through your life? (If you do this, please write their names on the back!)

Would you be thinking of the yard work and honey-do projects that still need completion?

Would you be calling a friend you hadn’t spoken to in a while to offer encouragement?

Would you be checking your investments to see how much money you made or lost today?

Would you be giving away resources on earth to build treasure in heaven?

Would you be swallowing your pride and apologizing to someone you know you hurt?

Would you try to enjoy one more favorite meal, favorite drink, sunset or walk around the neighborhood?

Would you get in one more game of golf?

Would you race into the office to finish that important project?

Would you throw a big party and invite everyone you could to enjoy a banquet and sit around a campfire sharing laughs and stories until you simply fell into eternal sleep?

Someday will be your last day on earth.

How you spend that time will be remembered forever.

Originally published at https://www.greggerber.com on July 4, 2021.