1 KINGS 1:29 – And the king swore, saying, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity…”
THEME OF THE DAY. DYING WORDS. The context of today’s scripture is King David dying. He is bedridden. He is an old man. He is soon to leave the world by way of the grave. His journey in this earth, his hard journey in this earth, is about over.
Imagine being in King David’s shoes, or better yet, his “dying bed”. Unless the Lord comes back or we are taken in a sudden way by His sovereign will, we will be where David was. And since that is true, would our last conversations be like his? What type of dialogues would we have with loved ones and friends? If we knew our days on earth are few, like single digit few, where would our conversations head? I don’t think we would talk about weather, sports, hobbies, achievements, jobs, pleasures, or anything else of such trivia as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23). No, on one’s death bed, reality settles in fast and deep. Everything in this life will pale in significance. What will matter is one’s relationship with God and the quality of the legacy we leave behind from that relationship. King David is a model, not a perfect man in life, but a sincere man in life, who ended well with great dying words. His focus was on the faithfulness of the God he walked with through his life. David’s dying words were God-centered words because he lived a God-centered life.
I am not sure anything may be sadder or fill a person with greater regret than to come to the end of life and realize we lived it for the wrong thing. To have wasted the one life we had on “trivial pursuits” and having neglected to cultivate a faithful and fruitful walk with the Lord Jesus would not only be the height of folly, but reveal we never understood the role of being a Christian in this life. Yet, we don’t have to experience this sad event. Starting today, we can put first things first. We may live Christ-centered, Christ-motivated, Christ-empowered, and do so with joy, peace, and power. And how may we do that? Allow me to suggest two things.
First, if the world is getting more of us than the Word and Christ, simply stop it. Now. Be decisive and say, “No more. Jesus is Lord and I am going to reflect that in how I live from this day forth.” By the way, when we make this pledge, close it by saying, “God help me be true to my resolve.” Without His power and grace, we won’t hold out and compromise will occur.
Next, live like today may be our last day on earth. Parent as if today is it. Love our spouses like today is it. Work for our employers as if today is it. Serve God’s people as if today is it. Share Christ’s Gospel with people as if today is it. If we started living each day as if it were our last day, do we know what will happen? A day will turn into a week; a week will turn into a month; a month will turn into a year; and a year will turn into a lifetime. And then, when our last day does come, we may with confidence be like King David and have our dying words be God-centered because we lived God-centered.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for being a God always faithful to me.”
QUOTE: “Live today for the glory of God so that when your dying day comes it will be to the glory of God.”