When Legends Die

This past weekend, I attended a funeral in Birmingham, AL of an industry legend.  When this person entered the room, it was as if the red carpet was rolled out.  There was an old commercial when I was a teenager that would hit the airwaves as it would say  “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.”  He was that type of man.  

People that have this ability are rare, very rare indeed.  Hebrews 11 goes through a Hall of Fame of individuals who walked by "Faith" like Abel (not Adam), Enoch. Noah, Abraham, Sara, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the harlot Rahab (interesting), Gedeon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, David, Samuel, other prophets.  What did these people do to deserve such a honor that faith drove them to be mentioned in Hebrews 11:

"33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."

Powerful words, "Of whom the world was not worthy".   Characters of the Holy Bible that were revered and respected even while going through some of the most difficult trials and  tribulations trusting that the Lord will deliver them through the will of God in their lives.  It is not just these great legends that can make a difference.  James Allen writes  something similar about ordinary every day people that have made the world a better place in As A Man Thinketh  "Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage, these are the makers of the after-world, the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, laboring humanity would perish."

The heroes of old leave their footprint for all us to remember "When Legends die".