If you have the opportunity to say last words, just before you die, what would you say? Think about the gravity of the moment. Likely, your family will be around you. They will remember your last words probably more than anything you ever said to them. Your last words will be famous to them, locked in their hearts and minds. Your last words can have a profound impact on them.
In the previous post, we skipped over a section of David’s last words to his son, Solomon. Let’s got back to David’s final words in 1 Kings chapter 2, verses 2–4,
“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’”
When I read those last words of David, I think of Dallas Willard’s last words. Willard was a Christian scholar and writer about spirituality and discipleship. He passed about ten years ago, and numerous contemporary Christians believe that Willard’s writings will have a significant impact for decades to come. If you haven’t read any of his works, I highly recommend them.
His family and estate recently published, posthumously, Willard’s 1980s-era talks on the parables of Jesus in the book The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God. In the introduction they recall Willard’s last words to a family member, just before he died.
Dallas Willard said, “Give ‘em heaven.”
I love that. It is a play on the phrase “Give ‘em hell,” which we hear in our culture in film or sport or battle, usually to encourage people to give their all to the task. There is a tone of violence associated with phrase, because of the word “hell.” But Willard removes the violence, fire, and death, replacing the violence with hope of new life. When we think about our mission as disciples of Jesus, those three words say it all so well, “Give ‘em heaven.”
Just as David told his son Solomon to walk in obedience and keep God’s decrees and commands, we disciples of Jesus live out the principles and mission of the Kingdom of heaven in our daily lives. That’s how we “give ‘em heaven.” In other words, when we live in line with God’s heart, with the Jesus way of living, we give the people around us a foretaste of the Kingdom.
Have you ever viewed your life that way? You can give people a taste of the Kingdom of God.
This is why at Faith Church we feature a Fruit of the Spirit each month. Our Fruit of the Spirit for the month of January 2025 is love. Can you imagine the impact Christians would have in the world if we were known primarily for how our love is like Jesus’ love. And when I say “like Jesus’ love,” I’m not suggesting that we have to be perfect, or that if we are not perfect we are failures. Living like Jesus is the goal, but God’s grace is always for us, knowing that we will not be 100% like Jesus. But don’t let your imperfection stop you from pursuing the goal of love
Next month we will feature the Fruit of the Spirit of Joy. Can you imagine the impact Christians would have if we were known for our joy? We could ask this question about impact for each of the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.
David’s charge to Solomon, David’s last words, are all about a way of living. David is saying that a particular way of living leads to prosperity. David is not teaching what has come to be known in our era as the Prosperity Gospel. The Prosperity Gospel suggests that if people live with enough faith, trust, and obedience to God, they will prosper in physical ways. Specifically, they will be healthy and wealthy. Therefore, the Prosperity Gospel is sometimes called the Health and Wealth gospel. In my theological tradition, we do not agree that biblical teaching aligns with the idea that prosperity is a guarantee for those who are faithfully obedient to God.
Life has no guarantees. Even a person who is faithfully obedient to and trusting in God can get sick, lose their job, suffer a tragic accident, be misunderstood, mistreated, and will eventually die. That is humanity 101. But the principle David shares is still legit. The best way to live is the way of faithful obedience to God. The way of faithful obedience to God shows our gratitude and praise to God. The way of faithful obedience to God shows our trust in God.
Let me say it again: the way of faithful obedience to God is not always easy. As I mentioned in a post last week, David gave us a powerful principle of obedience to God when he said, “I will not sacrifice to God that which cost me nothing.” When we give our lives to faithful obedience to God, we are giving our lives to him in a costly sacrificial way. Sacrifice sounds harsh, but when it comes to God, we can trust that his way is a good way. It is an abundant life (John 10:10).
We give generously to his kingdom through offerings. We volunteer our time through ministries. I am convinced that giving our time on Sunday morning to participate in worship services is a good start, but we need to take the next step from there. We need to serve the mission of the Kingdom. We need to understand, first what the mission is, and then take steps to align our hearts, minds and actions to the way of the mission of Jesus.
Going to church worship services is a very good thing. I wish more people would go to church worship services. I wish current worshipgoers would increase their frequency. There are also current worshipgoers who see their worshipgoing as attendance more so than participation. I wish worshipgoers would be more participatory.
More than worship services, though, I want people to increase their participation in the mission of the Kingdom, reaching out in love to the people in our communities. To “Give ‘em heaven,” loving sacrificially and generously, loving as Jesus loves.
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 