Dear Disciple,
“Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed.” Acts 13:36
When the dynamic gospel duo, Paul and Barnabas, went to a city called Pisidian Antioch during their mission to spread the message about Jesus, they were invited to address the Jews gathered in the synagogue there. Naturally, they decided to tell God’s covenant people about the coming of their Messiah! In making their case that Jesus of Nazareth was that Messiah, they declared that He had been raised from death just as the prophet David had foretold. David had indeed died and his body decayed, Paul pointed out, but his descendant Jesus did not stay dead long enough for His body to decay!
That was the main point Paul was making when he said the words quoted above, but I wanted to direct your attention to what he said about David’s life. He “served God’s purpose in his own generation”. Hover on that for a moment. David served God’s purpose in his own generation. Is there anything else a disciple of Jesus wants to accomplish in his or her life?
Do you believe, Disciple, that God is still at work to accomplish His purpose in the world today? Are you quite convinced that the God who accomplished the impossible throughout the Biblical story in order to move His purpose forward is still moving powerfully throughout the earth today? He hasn’t yet accomplished all He intends to accomplish. The war isn’t over, and the new creation has not yet fully come! So then, our King would call on this generation of His servants to serve His purpose right here and now.
Our mortal lives will end eventually, Disciple, just as David’s did, and until they do we must choose whose purpose we will serve. Will it be our own (which ends up serving the purpose of the Enemy) or our Master’s? Only one purpose will endure forever. Only one purpose means the good of the cosmos. Only one purpose is destined to triumph over all others. Only one purpose is unspeakably good, satisfying, and beautiful. Only one purpose is worthy to be served. You and I both know it is the purpose of our King, so let us agree again today to serve God’s purpose in our generation. He has had servants in past generations who served His purposes then, and (should our Master tarry) He will have servants in future generations who will serve Him then. This is our only time to serve our God’s purpose in this world, so let us do it with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Now then, what is God’s purpose, and what role will you play in it?
Whatever else others might say about us when we’ve gone the way of all the earth, let them say about us what Paul said about our ancient brother David: “Now when they had served God’s purpose in their generation, they fell asleep.” Yes, our bodies will “sleep”, but our spirits will be encountering our Master with the joy of knowing we pleased Him. Dear Disciple, can a servant have any greater joy?
Choosing His purpose in this generation with you,
Ryan
