Day 80, or March 21.
How will you be remembered?
Our thought today is from 1 Samuel chapter 25 verse 1.
Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled, and mourned for him, and they buried him at
his home in Ramah.
Then David moved down into the desert of Paran.
Here's the big picture of this verse.
As David continues to be on the run from Saul, he finds he is given a golden opportunity
to kill him, but rejects it, and then attracts his attention when he shouts, in chapter 24
verse 12, May the LORD judge between us.
Perhaps the LORD will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never
harm you.
He really was a faithful servant of the LORD's anointed, and honoured him as such.
In the next chapter David has another chance to kill Saul, but despite encouragement from
his men, to finally conclude the whole issue, David won't, because he sees Saul as his
king, not as his enemy.
You would think that David's loyalty was now beyond question, but Saul never seems to
get it, as he struggles with the idea of David rather than Jonathan succeeding him.
Now our action step for today.
When Samuel the prophet and kingmaker dies, he doesn't even get a whole verse announcing
it in the Bible.
He is the only man in the Old Testament who has two books that bear his name, and yet
his passing is almost overlooked.
I know some folk who have already planned their own funeral, and if that is in order
to keep it brief and point people to Jesus, that's fine.
However, if it's simply to make sure that none of their great works or deeds is forgotten,
then they should get those plans out and take another look at them.
I would like to think that I have lived my life so that whoever takes my funeral will
be able to tell the truth.
That seems to me a fitting tribute for any of God's children.
The last thing I want is for my funeral to be so abounding in praise that folk begin
to ask, whose funeral was that?
I think I've come to the wrong one.