Corona Devo 880
We come...and we go.
Uzziah son of Amaziah began to rule over Judah... (2) He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. (3) He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight...
(8) Zechariah son of Jeroboam II began to rule over Israel... He reigned in Samaria six months. (9) Zechariah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight...
(10) Then Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah, assassinated him in public, and became the next king.
(13) Shallum...began to rule over Israel... Shallum reigned...only one month. (14) Then Menahem son of Gadi went to Samaria from Tirzah and assassinated him, and he became the next king.
(17) Menahem...began to rule over Israel... He reigned in Samaria ten years. (18) But Menahem did what was evil in the Lord’s sight...
(23) Pekahiah son of Menahem began to rule over Israel... He reigned in Samaria two years. ~2 Kings 15:1-3, 8-10, 13-14, 17-18, 23
Notice a pattern?
King after king rises and falls. Rules. Dies. Is Killed. They rule their nations for a while, some for fifty-two years (Uzziah) and some for only one month (Shallum).
Rise and fall. Life and death. We come...and we go. Person after person strives, has brief fame...fades.
I feel the Lord pressing a reality into us today--our "reign" on earth is fast. We are here briefly, and then we die.
- O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them? (4) For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow. ~Psalm 144:3-4
- For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow... ~I Chronicles 29:15
- Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. (5) You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath. ~Psalm 39:4-5
Can we stop scrambling daily to make our mark and start dedicating our days to making-a-mark for God?
Either way, we will die--but telling others about Jesus extends His eternal Kingdom to "one more". Shouting our name and claiming our fame is a self-focused thrill that dies when we do.
We're only here briefly. Let's make it count.
In the life-summations of the kings listed above, their entire lives were boiled down to a simple phrase that weighed their scales. The Bible does not list the wealth, degrees, accumulations, or popularity of each king. And nor will our Lord care an ounce about any of that when we die. God's Word draws a distinct line in defining a life:
"He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight... " or "did what was evil in the Lord’s sight..."
God's scales have not changed since the Bible was written. He will be looking for the same (single) criteria to define our lives. And our "today" will determine our "tomorrow" in eternity.
Will they say...will God say...that we
"did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight... "
or
"did what was evil in the Lord’s sight..."
The first point that sobers me in the verses above is the reminder that life goes quickly. The older I get, the more I realize that. My days and years seem to fly by, and beyond that, deaths and funerals are an abrupt reminder (message?) that our days on earth are numbered. And what will they say of us when our time comes?
"He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight... " or "did what was evil in the Lord’s sight..."
Our eulogy is completely up to us.
That's pretty exciting.
And on many days...daunting. I'd love a glowing speech by someone at my funeral, but they might not be able to whole-heartedly give it if they heard me lash-out and melt-down last night about an untidy house. That was not pleasing in the Lord's sight.
And a number of those kings assassinated someone in order to gain their position. Sounds cruel and barbaric, but how often do we verbally/emotionally/and judgementally "assassinate" others along-our-way and that get in our way? We, too, build a false "empire" at the cost of others. That does not feel or sound like "what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight"...
Christ came to pay the price for others and us. Let Him be King over our today and if we will glorify His Name and Way over ours, then others will see Him through us, and that is pleasing in the Lord's sight.
God is still ruling on high. Not for six months or fifty-two years, but our Lord will rule for eternity and has ruled since He created you and me and every other (one month or fifty-two year) king that has reigned.
We only get one go-around, and no one knows when it will end. Let's make it count and let's do what is pleasing in the Lord’s sight.
We come...and we go. Let's go-with-God today.
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