“Having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their self habitation, that they would seek God.” ~ Acts 17:26-27
As I read this scripture this past week, I was reminded about the poem of the dash on a person’s tombstone. In it, the author writes “for it matters not how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.”
Listen to what Paul says in Acts 17 when proclaiming Christ to those in Athens. The Lord has already appointed our time here on earth and it’s just a small blip in the history of mankind. He’s even determined the boundaries of our existence. He knew before the foundation of the world when we would physically exist. He knew where we would grow up. He knew that you would be born in America, or Africa or Asia, etc.
This has huge implications, because it speaks of purpose. He could have chosen not to create me. He could have had me grow up in Europe in 400 A.D. or in the middle of the bush in Africa in the 1500s. But he didn’t, because he had purpose for me here and now. And his purpose wasn’t that I would be great or that I would make a name for myself. It wasn’t so that I would make significant contributions to this world, though I may. It was much simpler than that. His sole purpose was that I would seek Him, that I would know him and encourage others to do the same.
I think we get caught up in pursuing our own little dash, that we miss out on the fact that it’s not our dash in the first place. It’s His. It’s all about Him. Would that perspective forever define my dash? Would my dash be sold out to completely seeking Him?
~ Brent Roberts
Africa Freedom Mission