July 10
1 Chron 9:1-10:14 | PS 8:1-9 | Prov 18:23-24 | Acts 27:21-44
On one's tombstone are often one's name and dates on this earth, along with a short phrase such as loving father or mother, husband or wife, etc. When we come to the end of King Saul's life we read in 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, "So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He failed to obey the Lord’s command, and he even consulted a medium instead of asking the Lord for guidance. So the Lord killed him and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse." As we read of David’s life, we often read that he was the benchmark of faith for all other kings. Interestingly we don't know if Saul was a good father to his children, and we don't hear much about his role as a spouse. Concerning David his mistakes as a father are highlighted, and he incorrectly had many wives. So, it's important that God's epitaph and man's epitaph are often drastically different. We focus too much on our highlight reels: what we have done, what we have given, etc. We must remember that God never piles our good works and bad works and weighs them. Most of us have no problem pointing our accusatory fingers at others while at the same time excusing all of our own wrong actions. Our eternity hangs on what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. Our true epitaphs hang on this vertical relationship with our Savior, not on our horizontal relationships with others. We are to exhibit the fruits of our salvation when dealing with others, as we should be the most gracious and merciful to others, but God sees what the rest of the world cannot, and we must never forget that we are all sinners, and thus all fall short on our own. Thank you, Jesus!
When we can live a life of faith based on a true relationship with God, we will often look different. Some will appreciate this difference, others will not. We read of an imminent shipwreck with all but one paralyzed in fear. Paul, the man of faith, was actually communicating with the Lord, while others on the ship were in panic-mode and troubleshooting with one another. We read of Paul's state of mind in Acts 27:22-26, "But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. But we will be shipwrecked on an island.” Fortunately the commanding officer trusted Paul, not his own instincts, his position, or the views of others and things proceeded as Paul stated.
It is easy to forget much of Paul's bad highlight reel: he was there as Stephen was killed, he led parties to hunt down Christians and had them put in prison and even killed. Yet, Paul was reached by God, turned his life over to Him, and led a life of faith. Does that mean that his every thought and action from that point forward was perfect? No! Only God is perfect. But, Paul placed his trust in God and led a life of faith. So, for all of us, yes, it is certainly good to show love in all of our horizontal dealings with others: our spouses, children, friends, co-workers, etc. We should serve as God's ambassadors in an otherwise very dark world. But remember we will have days in which we would like to place on our highlight reel, and many others in which we hope it will be forgotten. It's not that this doesn't matter, but it matters less than whether one has or has not chosen to repent or change their minds where they differ from what God has clearly spelled out for us in Scripture, and whether they have come before the Lord, Jesus and trusted on His sacrifice for us on the cross. This is where our epitaph truly lies!
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: