DUTY AND DEATH
“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption.”- Acts 13:36
Everything in creation has a purpose. Whether it is the birds of the air or the flowers of the field, they are there by the wise design of our Creator and each serve a purpose. And it is no less true of man. David understood that he was here on a mission and he “served his own generation by the will of God”. We would be wise to do the same.
Preaching before a group at the YMCA many years ago, John MacDuff said, “Are we to fritter away our brief hour on life’s stage; to be ushered in with a few rejoicings at our birth, followed by a few tears at our departure? And when our sun has gone down, when the grass of the grave covers our resting place–shall we be as if we never were?” What a shame that would be, yet that is the sad story of many.
Think about that. You are not here by accident. The same God who set the stars in their place and assigns to each the course to take has put you here for a reason. You do not exist just to take up space and breathe air. God made you for a mission. Whether you sit on a throne as a king or in a rocking chair at a nursing home you are here for a reason. You might be young and healthy or old and feeble. You might have the ability to run a major corporation, or be bedfast and only able to pray, but you have a purpose to live for. You might be wealthy and able to donate large sums of money or living in poverty, but each can make a contribution of some sort and size– and God alone is able to judge who gives the most.
May God help us do what we can, with what we have, while we can. The night comes when no man can work. One day the curtain will fall, life will be over, and opportunities shall cease. Hopefully we will have done our best to serve our generation by the will of God as David did. In doing so we shall hear the Master say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant“. Waste not another day–you never know when it might be your last. –HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
