He died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected

He died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected and his son Solomon succeeded as king (1 Chronicles 29:28)

   The greatest need of Christian life is integrity, commitment and sincerity. No Christian can be successful without being committed to reach his goal. We as Christians do have a high calling from God. God is calling us to live in heavenly places for all coming eternity. He is even calling us to sit upon the throne together with His Son and rule the universe in the coming ages.

   Those are the words telling us about the end of King David’s life. We know from the Scriptures that David’s life was full of ups and downs. His life was not “A Bed of Roses” He had experienced every kind of suffering and pain in his life. He was hated by King Saul without any reason. For a long time he lived under the constant fear of death. He had to run for his life and hide himself in jungles and caves. He was loved by people and admired as a hero by many.

   He was a man of many talents and saintly qualities. He was a friend of God. He loved God and worshipped him with all his heart. He was an ardent student of Scriptures. He red and searched into the Scriptures day and night. He was a worshipper. He was a man of faith and prayer. He was also a prophet of God. He prophesied about God’s son and his crucifixion for the whole mankind. Many of David’s psalms were Prophetic and Messianic. The bible tells us that he was even musician and a singer. It is little wonder that he was respected and admired by many.

   But he had his own week moments of life. There were times when he fell into sin. The whole nation and the whole world knew about his fall. Many people criticized him and hated him. He knew what it is to lose the joy of the presence of God. He knew what it is to lose the joy of salvation. He knew the pain of his prayers being rejected. Many times God’s answers for his prayers were delayed. He was praying and agonizing in the presence of God for many days while heaven was silent. He knew physical suffering and spiritual suffering. He knew the blessings of God and the anger of God. He knew the glory of social admiration and social rejection. In short we can say that David experienced every possible joy and pain of human life.

   Now the scripture tells us in our present text about the glorious end of this man of God. The present text tells us three things - Firstly, David died at a ripe old age. God has blessed him with long life. Secondly, he was rich and wealthy when he died. Thirdly, the Bible tells us that he was respected. That means he no more suffered social rejection and hatred of people. At the end of David’s life everything was glorious and enjoyable. Ecclesiastes – 3:11 tells us that “God has made everything beautiful in its time” It is said that all is well that ends well. David’s life which ran through so many upheavals has ended as a glorious success.

   This is what we can expect from our Lord Jesus. David’s life is the typical Christian life. As Christians we should not expect a life without ups and downs. Many Christians find fault with God when they have problems and painful situations in their lives. They expect that God should rule out all pain, humiliation and unpleasant events from their lives. My dear brothers and sisters let me tell you that is not the right Christian life. A Christian life without pain and suffering is no Christian life at all. As someone has rightly said, God has not promised a smooth sailing for us but He has definitely promised a smooth and safe landing. May God grant us the serenity to accept life as it comes to us!