I Chronicles 22:5; II Timothy 2:1-5. There is a close
connection between these two portions of Scripture which we
have just read; they are the last words of two very faithful
servants of God who lived in days gone by. The charge that each of them left has a
very close connection with our experience today. We read of two things that David
mentioned he was leaving as a heritage for his son: a wonderful peace as the result
of his warfare, and a wonderful future as the result of his provision. David is
known in the Bible as a man of war, valiant in battle. He
fought the enemy, and left a victorious peace for the
generation following. While he was doing that, he was also making preparation for the
future. He knew his son and others following him were young and tender, and he put his best into the
preparation so that they would be able to carry on the work after he was
gone.
Our
hearts have been bowed in sadness at the thought of our brother departing from us, yet we rejoice
because he has left such a rich heritage for us. Those who have known him the best have
known him to be a man of war; truth has always been first in his life. I have been impressed as I have seen him
dealing with friend or foe; he always fought
for truth. As the Lord's people, we are enjoying a wonderful era of peace as a result of his faithful warfare, and the warfare of
our other older brethren in the Work. We can also rejoice in the fact
that he found time to prepare for the future. I felt that if our brother could rise up and speak to us who follow in the work, it would be the same message which Paul spoke to Timothy, "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." The greatest responsibility of any soldier is to guard that which is committed to his trust. I pray for myself and for my fellowlaborers, that we will be good soldiers of Jesus Christ, carefully guarding and reverencing these things entrusted to us, that we will be able to hand them down unblemished to the generation following. Sextet: "Abide With Me" |