Acts 13:16-22
I sometimes like to walk through a cemetery and read the epitaphs. It’s interesting to see the words that have been chosen to sum up a person’s life. This may seem like a morbid pastime, but it’s actually a helpful way to reassess one’s own life. We’re each going to leave a testimony of some kind when we die. Have you ever wondered what your loved ones will remember about you? What words do you want inscribed on your gravestone?
In today’s passage, the apostle Paul tells us how God saw David—as “a man after My heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22). What an awesome testimony of a life well lived! Though David wasn’t a perfect man, he was one whose life was centered on God’s interests and desires.
David’s many psalms attest to the fact that his relationship with the Lord was the most important aspect of his life. His passion was to obey God and carry out His will. However, that doesn’t mean he was always obedient. Who can forget his failure with Bathsheba? But even when he sinned by committing adultery and murder, his heart was still bent toward God. The conviction he felt and his humble repentance afterward proved that his relationship with the Lord was still his top priority.
If God wrote a summary of your life, how would He describe you? Does your heart align with His, or have you allowed it to follow the pleasures and pursuits of this world? Unless we diligently pursue our relationship with the Lord, we will drift away from Him. Maybe it’s time for a course correction.