Continuing

October 28, 2013: How Can I Serve My Generation? Please “Share” this link to a new Precious Prodigal Blog Post: http://www.preciousprodigal.com/blog/blog=index.html

How Can I Serve My Generation?

Acts 13:36 “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep.”

I had just turned 17 when things went from unbearable to impossible at home. With nowhere else to turn and with what little courage I could muster, I reached out to my sister Sally and her husband Paul. People might expect help from their sisters, but Paul too embraced me, made a place in his home for me and supported me with his earnings. He and Sally weren’t much older than I, but their intervention almost certainly saved my life. And without a doubt, they changed the direction of that life.

As I thought about Paul this weekend, I was reminded of Acts 13, where we learn that King David "served his own generation and then he fell asleep." (Acts 13:36) Paul was not a famous man, but he was a kind man. He didn’t move mountains. He moved a bed into his children’s room to make a place for me. He didn’t lead vast armies or command countries. But he and Sally refused to let me quit school or to quit hoping that things could be better.

I also thought about the thousands of people who have found my blog and in that blog found hope and courage to face another day. Paul didn’t know about those people or the pain they would carry or that the Lord would encourage them through the simple words I would someday write. I don’t think Paul and my sister saw anything special about what they did. They only saw a lost and desperate teenager who had nowhere else to turn and no one else to care. They certainly had problems of their own. Who doesn’t? But they didn’t let those problems keep them from reaching out and touching a life. And in reaching out, Paul “served his generation.”

I wonder how many times I’ve missed an opportunity to make a difference. I’m sure there have been many times because my own pain sometimes makes me short sighted, unable to see the pain of others. And if I wait for things to be perfect in my life, I will never accomplish anything for God, and I certainly won’t be able to serve my generation. What if my prodigal never comes home? What if your prodigal doesn’t? Are we going to be content to accomplish nothing for God or for our generation?

Paul left me a legacy when his life ended. He left me a reminder that the smallest thing I do can echo through the years and affect hundreds or even thousands of people. And I don’t have forever to do it. So for me, for today, I’m determined to give God all I have for as long as I have. If I’m in pain, I’ll offer the “sacrifice of praise,” and I’ll find a way to use that pain for God’s glory. If there is cause to rejoice, I’ll rejoice in the Lord. But either way, I’ll serve my God by serving my generation.

A hero of mine went home to be with the Lord this week. Rest in peace, my precious Paul...more than a friend, a brother.

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today, ask God how you can serve your generation in the days you have left?

Author's Note

October 28, 2013:
How Can I Serve My Generation?
Please “Share” this link to a new Precious Prodigal Blog Post:
http://www.preciousprodigal.com/blog/blog=index.html