Daily lesson for August 23, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Kings chapter 5 verses 15 through 21:

15 So Bathsheba went to the king in his room. The king was very old; Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king. 16Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king, and the king said, ‘What do you wish?’ 17She said to him, ‘My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying: Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne. 18But now suddenly Adonijah has become king, though you, my lord the king, do not know it. 19He has sacrificed oxen, fatted cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the children of the king, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the commander of the army; but your servant Solomon he has not invited. 20But you, my lord the king—the eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his ancestors, that my son Solomon and I will be counted offenders.’

I was speaking with someone yesterday about the importance of leaving a will, and here this morning the Scripture pops up with David about to die and his intentions for the throne not being clear.

A will makes things clear. So, too, do directives for end of life care and funerals. The only thing worse than arguing over who will speak at a funeral is the argument over whether or not it is okay to remove life-sustaining care to a loved one. As a pastor, these things are excruciating to watch and try to counsel/mediate.

So, some pastoral advice. Write a living will. Make it plain and let everyone in the family know where to find it.

Also, let everyone know what's in it. It's not good to leave surprises.

David did express his wishes at the end. But, really, it was too late. He was actually on his death bed.

We need to get our loved ones ready for what will happen before it happens.

Death is hard enough for those left behind; let's try to make it a little easier.

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.