The Bottom Line

Today’s Passage – Ecclesiastes 7 – 12

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

When Solomon was at the end of his life after he got finished with all of his thinking, all of his philosophies, all of his experiments and studies; he came to one conclusion: it is man’s duty to fear the Lord. When your life is over, much of what you lived for will matter. The pleasures you pursued; the wealth you accumulated; the relationships you nurtured; the power and prestige that you attained; none of it will matter. What will matter, however, is whether or not you fulfilled the will of God for your life. You and I are here on this earth for a purpose, which is glorifying God and fulfilling His Great Commission. I like what Missionary Kevin Conner said at our church a few months back. He said, “Everything you do for God you could do better in Heaven, with the exception of winning people to the Lord Jesus”. That’s a true statement. I could certainly study Him better, and pray to Him better if I were in His presence; but He left me here on this earth to serve people for Him. My job is to allow Him to live through me in order to impact the lives of those around me.

In another month, I will be 46 years old. I am well over half way through with my time here on the earth. I have wasted a lot of my time in the past on meaningless pursuits, but I desire to be used of Him to the fullest in my remaining years. I want God to get all of me. I want to live my life as yielded as I possibly can to His will.

The Bottom Line is that time is running out. The Bottom Line is that I will spend eternity either rejoicing over what was accomplished for His glory; or regretting what was accomplished for mine. The conclusion of the whole matter – fear God – live for Him – obey Him.