Ministers Blogs
“Don’t Miss the Point”
Categories: Christian PrinciplesTonk Talk
On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright had successfully kept their homemade airplane in the air for fifty-nine seconds. Immediately they rushed a telegram to their sister in Dayton, Ohio, telling of this great accomplishment.
The telegram read, “First sustained flight today fifty-nine seconds. Hope to be home by Christmas.” Upon receiving the news, the sister was excited about the success that she rushed to the newspaper office and gave the telegram to the editor. The next morning the newspaper headline read, “Popular Local Bicycle Merchants to Be Home For Holidays.”
One of the greatest stories of the 20th century was missed because an editor missed the point.
Have you ever told someone something and they missed the point? Years ago, I preached a sermon on Christian unity. One gentleman came up to me after the sermon and complimented me on my sermon and proceeded to thank me for promoting his favorite translation of the Bible. I was speechless and did not know how to respond. This gentleman really missed the point, my sermon was not about translations of the Bible.
As I think about these two illustrations, it is a reminder of how easy it is for people to miss the point, especially when it comes to our faith and relationship with the Lord. Ecclesiastes 12:13, instructs us that the main point of life is this: “…Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
How many of us know that this is the main point of our lives, to fear God and keep his commandments? It is so easy to get sidetracked thinking our main point of living is to make money, to have a family, to help our children succeed in sports, academics, or popularity, or to live for pleasure and the enjoyments found in this life. So, many times we miss the point of life and forget that fearing the Lord and keeping His commands is the whole point of living.
We are here on this earth, to serve the Lord. Paul put it this way in Galatians 1:10, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Despite all the distractions of the world, may we always remember to fear God and keep His commandments. Don’t miss the point! In Christ’s love, Mark T. Tonkery
