“For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”
— First Samuel 20:31
“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption.”
— Acts 13:36
It is too easy to think that the Lord’s ministry can be inherited. The ministry that the Lord has committed to a person operates as long as that person is present, but when that person dies, that ministry stops with him. Even if he wants to pass it on, he cannot. It is up to the Lord to raise up another minister to work with Him.
In his book, A Table in the Wilderness, Watchman Nee speaks of this, saying that once a servant of the Lord has served his generation and has passed on, the Lord must plow up everything to open the ground for whatever He will do next. (See the entry for December 31st.)
In our concept, perhaps, it should be something carried on by way of inheritance, as a direct continuation. Such a notion is something of religion and hinders God from being the preeminent One among us.
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, page 38.
Monday: “When Religion is Exposed” (1)