“For whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit….” (I Peter 3:10 ESV)
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Like anybody, I would like to have a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will.” That ought to be our objective every day; to do the will of God’s as we sojourn through life. And if we operate in the each day, guided by the will of God, we will have done a great thing.
In yesterday’s meditation I referred to myself as being old. I stand corrected because it was brought to my attention as I sat down to write this morning that there are others who would consider my nearly 72 years as “young.” You see just this past Sunday afternoon I had driven by a card drop off for three alumni from my high school. You may have heard about the school at some time or the other. The school had a song, “Hail to the green! Hail to the gold!” Still wondering what school? It’s that famous secondary institution that opened in 1927 in Indianapolis, Indiana; Crispus Attucks High School.
The three alumni that could definitely call me young are 100, 103, and 112 years old. They are still in the land of the living and their presence is still blessing others. The granddaughter of these alumni; the granddaughter of the “baby” of the honorees, is a leader at the church where I pastor. Oh I will be like Dr. MLK, Jr. and say something about longevity, but I will vary my statement to make it personal, “I definitely want to live a long life and do God’s will every day and fulfill my purpose in life!” As long as we have purpose, the Lord will let our days roll on. So live your life purposefully, and know that purposefully means particularly living it for Him. Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit as our opening verse alerts you.
In this new time, follow the Old Testament counsel found In Deuteronomy 5:33: “Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” In addition to the opening verse and the Scripture just quoted, live according to the wisdom found in our closing verse too! If you have not reached the age of the alumni above, start making some adjustments, live out your purpose, and see how the Lord blesses you and others! May Christ’s kingdom be blessed as you do! And you of course…”Be blessed!”
“Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is found on the path of righteousness.” (John 3:16 CEB)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King