Will award (591) (apodidomi from apó = from + didomi = give and so to "give off” from one’s self) literally means to give back, then to put away by giving and then in a more figurative sense to pay back or recompense.
Apodidomi can mean to give back or pay back (implying a debt and conveying the idea of obligation and responsibility for something that is not optional) and was a technical term for repaying a debt (Mt 18:25, 20:8, 21:41) It means to pay back, implying a debt. The papyri uses apodidomi to describe the paying of debt or restoring of a due of any kind.
In the middle voice the idea of apodidomi is to give up something one possesses for sale or to give away for one's own profit what is one's own and thus to sell (Acts 5:8, 7:9, Lxx = Ge 25:31, 33, of Joseph sold by his brothers Ge 37:27, 28, cf Ge 37:36)
Paul uses apodidomi of husbands in the sense of fulfilling one’s duty (1Co 7:3)
To repay or recompense (divine or human), for example as a reward, where such a reward could be either positive or negative, depending upon what the individual deserves (6.4" class="scriptRef">Mt 6:4, 6, 18; 16:27; Ro 2:6; 12:17; 1Th 5:15; 1Ti 5:4; 2Ti 4:8, 14; 1Pe 3:9; Rev 18:6; 22:12)
TDNT summarizes apodidomi as...
a. “To give or do something in fulfilment of an obligation or expectation,” e.g., Mt. 20:8 (reward), 21:41 (fruits), Mk. 12:17 (taxes), Mt. 27:58 (Jesus’ body), Heb. 12:11 (fruit).
b. “To repay as reward or punishment”: divine retribution in Mt. 6:4; Rom. 2:6; Rev. 22:12; human retribution in 1 Tim. 5:4.
c. “To give back what has been received or kept” (Lk. 4:20 etc.).
d. “To sell” (Acts 5:8; 7:9; Heb. 12:16)
The thought of divine retribution in the NT sets us impressively under threat and promise. This retribution is future and carries the promise of love and forgiveness as well as judgment. It brings out the personal nature of the relation with God. We do not do good for good’s sake but out of love of God and in recognition that we are his. It thus belongs to our very being to be subject to retribution. It is love that posits a creature that is under retribution. Only because of sin does retribution work against us. But since the root is in love, forgiveness is not incompatible with retribution. How God conjoins the two is the secret of his majesty, with which faith enjoys fellowship, but only in subjection to its holiness. (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans)
NIDNTT notes that in Classic Greek apodidomi was used from the time of Homer and meant "primarily to give up, render (Diod. Sic. 14, 84, 2), or, to give back (Xen., Hell. 2, 2, 9). In the middle voice it means accordingly to sell. Hence it acquired the specific meaning of giving something up which one must give up because of some kind of obligation (thus to pay out a wage, Xen., Anab. 1, 2, 12; to pay one’s vow, Xen., Mem. 2, 2, 10). This gives the word the technical sense to render, requite, in both good and bad senses (Dion. Hal., 6, 73). (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan )
Deissmann in "Light from the Ancient East" says that ""a stereotyped formula in these documents (papyrus documents in which the debtor writes down his acknowledgment of debt) is the promise to pay back the borrowed money, "I will repay" (generally apodoso, from apodidomi) and they are all in the debtor's own hand (hence the technical name, "hand-writing," "writing by hand" [cf. English "note of hand"]) or if he could not write, in the handwriting of another acting for him with the express remark, 'I have written for him.'"
Apodidomi - 48 uses in the NT (note frequency of use in synoptic gospels) - Mt. 5:26, Mt 5:33; Mt 6:4, Mt 6:6, Mt 6:18; Mt 12:36; 16:27; 18:25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 34; 20:8; 21:41; 22:21; 27:58; Mk 12:17; Lk. 4:20; 7:42; 9:42; 10:35; 12:59; 16:2; 19:8; 20:25; Acts 4:33; 5:8; 7:9; 19:40; Ro 2:6; 12:17; 13:7; 1Co. 7:3; 1Th 5:15; 1Ti 5:4; 2Ti 4:8, 14; He 12:11, 16; 13:17; 1Pe 3:9; 4:5; Re 18:6; Re 22:2, Re 22:12
NAS renders apodidomi - account*(1), award(1), fulfill(2), gave...back(2), give(4), give back(1), given(1), giving(1), make some return(1), must(1), paid(3), pay(2), pay...back(1), pay back(3), render(6), repay(8), repayment to be made(1), repays(1), returning(1), reward(3), sold(3), yielding(1), yields(1).
Here are the uses of apodidomi...
Matthew 5:26-note "Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.
Matthew 5:33-note "Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.'
Comment: To fulfill, carry out, put into effect or accomplish what was intended or that which is one’s duty to someone as in keeping a vow.
Matthew 6:4-note so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Comment: Vincent: "The preposition apo indicates receipt in full. Rev. renders they have received, so that there is nothing more to receive. So Wycliffe. 'They have received their meed.'" Rienecker "to give back, to repay, to reward. Fut. is used to express the protasis of a Semitic condition.: “Do this and this will follow".
Matthew 6:6-note "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:18-note so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Matthew 12:36 "But I tell you that every careless word (rhema) that people speak, they shall give an accounting (logos) for it in the day of judgment.
Comment: UBS "To render account means to explain why things were said. The explanation will be before God, so the sentence can be “People are going to have to tell God why they said every useless word they did.”"
Louw-Nida "a marker of an agent relation with a numerable event, with the probable implication of some transfer involved"
Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. (cp Re 22:12-note)
Comment: Jesus quotes from the Septuagint of Psalm 62:12 "And lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord, for You recompense (Heb = shalem = to complete; Lxx = apodidomi) a man according to his work."
Matthew 18:25 "But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 "So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'...28 "But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' 29 "So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.'30 "But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.
Comment: This parable is in response to Peter's question regarding how often one should forgive (Mt 18:21) to which Jesus responded "seventy times seven" (Mt 18:22)
Mt 18:34 "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers (jailers) until he should repay all that was owed him.
Comment: This is what unforgiveness will do to you -- put you in prison figuratively speaking.
Matthew 20:8 "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.'
Matthew 21:41 They said to Him, "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons."
Matthew 22:21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."
Matthew 27:58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
Mark 12:17 And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him.
Comment: "give back, return." We are to give back to the government in taxes for the services we have received, and we are to give back to God what belongs to Him—the human soul.
Luke 4:20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
Luke 7:42 "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave (charizomai ) them both. So which of them will love him more?"
Comment: Even as our sins against God are considered as debts we "owe" Him, so too, sins of others against us are considered "debts" they owe us. When believers empowered by the Spirit choose to grant unmerited favor (grace forgiving which is the meaning of charizomai), we in essence "cancel the debt" (aphiemi = send it away) the offending party owes us. The importance of all believers maintaining a forgiving spirit cannot be overemphasized, for unforgiveness will place the unforgiving party in a prison in which they will be "tortured and tormented" until they make the choice to forgive (cf Mt 18:34, 35). For more discussion of this vitally important topic of forgiveness/unforgiveness see the notes on Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13, Matthew 6:12. (Cf Words for forgive/forgiveness - Forgiveness = aphesis; Forgive [send away from, cancel the debt, release, let go] = aphiemi; Forgive [grant, freely give, bestow] charizomai) As discussed in those notes, the number one problem in Christian churches in America is UNFORGIVENESS (from Bryon Paulus, director of Life Action Revival Ministries, a revival oriented ministry, who based his conclusion is based on their experience with 100's of churches and millions of believers over the past several decades). It follows that it behooves every shepherd to (in my humble opinion) to lead his flock at least once a year back into the green pastures and refreshing waters of the doctrinal truths on forgiveness (doctrine directs duty, revelation calls for a reasoned response, creed calls for conscious conduct, precepts precede and lead to appropriate practice), so that the sheep might be set free from their entrapment in the "brambles and thorns" wrought by a spirit of unforgiveness. I dare say that there would be families and marriages restored and revived, "factious friends" once again made friends, walls of resentment ripped down by the Word and Spirit of Truth, etc, etc. Jesus came to set the captives free (cf Lk 4:18, Jn 8:31, 32, 36) and unforgiveness is the number "prison" of each person's own making, and will yield rotten fruit "until" the debt has been paid from the heart (cf Mt 18:34, 35).
Luke 9:42 While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
Luke 10:35 "On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.'
Luke 12:59 "I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent."
Luke 16:2 "And he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.'
Luke 19:8 Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much."
Luke 20:25 And He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Acts 4:33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.
Acts 5:8 And Peter responded to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?" And she said, "Yes, that was the price."
Acts 7:9 "The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold (middle voice) him into Egypt. Yet God was with him (Ge 37:12-36),
Acts 19:40 "For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today's events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to (give - not translated in NAS = apodidomi; cp Ac 19:10KJV) account for this disorderly gathering."
Romans 2:6-note who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: (cp similar intent in Septuagint use in Isa 65:6, 7, 66:15)
Romans 12:17-note Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
Romans 13:7-note Render (aorist imperative) to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
Comment: Ralph Earle says apodidomi "means "give up or back, restore, return"; and so "to render what is due, to pay" (A-S). Deissmann shows that this word was used regularly in the papyri for a promise to pay back borrowed money. The emphasis is on the payment of a debt (LAE, p. 331). The NT consistently teaches that taxes are a debt which one owes the government, and that paying them is therefore a legal and moral obligation."
John MacArthur "Apodidomi (render) carries the idea of paying back something that is owed, and that meaning is reinforced by the phrase what is due them. Taxes are not voluntary or optional offerings given for the support of government, and paying them is the unqualified obligation of every citizen. Christians not only have a moral but a spiritual responsibility to pay taxes, because they know, or should know, that God requires it of them. Cheating on taxes is a crime against government and a sin against God." (MacArthur, J: Romans 9-16. Chicago: Moody Press)
1 Corinthians 7:3 The husband must fulfill (apodidomi - present imperative) his duty (opheilo) to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
Comment: Rienecker "Present imperative indicates habitual duty (Morris). The rabbis required that the marriage partners have regular sexual relations w. one another; generally on Friday night, which was the Sabbath."
1 Thessalonians 5:15-note See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
1 Timothy 5:4 but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God.
Comment: The idea “to give off from” one’s self and so discharging one’s obligations, since a debt like a burden, is thrown off.
2 Timothy 4:8-note in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Comment: Ellicott says "Preposition in compound does not necessarily convey any sense of due. Here the prep. only seems to allude to the reward having been laid up and being taken out of some reserve treasure."
2 Timothy 4:14-note Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
Hebrews 12:11-note All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Comment: Vincent says in this connection, “perhaps with a suggestion of recompense for the longsuffering and waiting.” Vine says apodidomi " means to give back; that is, it produces a return for that which has been ministered in discipline."
Hebrew 12:16-note that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
Hebrews 13:17-note Obey (present imperative) your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account (logos). Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
1 Peter 3:9-note not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 4:5-note but they will give (apodidomi) account (logos) to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Revelation 18:6-note "Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.
Revelation 22:2-note in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:12-note "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
Apodidomi - 148x in the Septuagint (LXX) - Ge 20:7, 14 (of restoring Abraham's wife); 25.25" class="scriptRef">25.31" class="scriptRef">Ge 25:31, 33; 12.9" class="scriptRef">9" class="scriptRef">9.21" class="scriptRef">29:21; 30.26" class="scriptRef">26" class="scriptRef">30:26; 22" class="scriptRef">37:22, 27-Gen.37.36" class="scriptRef">36" class="scriptRef">27f, 36; 42:25, 28" class="scriptRef">28" class="scriptRef">28, 34; 45:4f; 47:20, 22; Ex 5:18; 20:5; 21:7, 16, 35; 22:1, 26, 30; 23.4" class="scriptRef">23:4; Lev 6:4f; 25:14ff, 25, 27ff, 50ff; 26:4, 26; 27:20, 23f, 28; Num 5:7f; 13" class="scriptRef">8:13, 15-Num.8.26" class="scriptRef">15f, 19, 21; 14:18; 18:9; 21:29; 31:3; 36:2; Deut 2:28; 5:9; 7:10; 14:21, 25; 22:1f; 23:21; 24:7, 13, 15; 28:31; 32:30; Judg 2:14; 3:8; 4:2, 9; 10:7; 17.3-Judg.17.13" class="scriptRef">17:3f; 1 Sam 6:3f, 8, 17; 7:14; 12:3, 9; 2 Sam 3:14; 22:25; 1 Kgs 20:34; 2 Kgs 4:7; 2 Chr 6:23; 34:16, 28; Neh 5:12; 10:31; Esth 8:12; Job 22:25, 27; 24:20; 31:37; 33:26; 34:11; 39:12; Ps 22:25; 28:4; 44:12; 50:14; 51:12; 55:20; 56:12; 61:8; 62:11; 65:1; 66:13; 76:11; 79:12; 94:2, 23; 116:18; Prov 7:14; 17:13; 24:12; 28:21; 31:24; Eccl 5:4f; Isa 19:21; 26:12; 42:22; 65:6f; 66:15; Jer 22:13; 32:18; Lam 3:64f; Ezek 18:7, 12; 33:15; 46:17; Dan 4:34, 36; 6:2; 8:25; Joel 3:6ff; Amos 2:6; Jonah 2:9; Nah 1:15. Here are some representative uses of apodidomi...
Genesis 29:21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give (Command in the Lxx = apodidomi = as "payment that was due") me my wife, for my time is completed, that I may go in to her." (same idea in Ge 30:26 the idea being that Laban owed Jacob)
Psalm 22:25-note From You comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
Comment: When asking the LORD for help, the psalmists would typically promise to praise the LORD publicly if he intervened and delivered them (NET Bible Note)
Psalm 50:14-note "Offer (qal imperative) to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay (Lxx = apodidomi) your vows to the Most High; (Used in the same way with idea of repaying one's vow - Ps 22:25, 61:8, 66:13, 116:18, Eccl 5:4,5, Is 19:21)
Psalm 51:12-note Restore (Hiphil imperative - Hebrew = chadash = renew, repair, renovate, like an altar 1Sa 11:14 and here figuratively = revitalize to a state or condition identical or nearly the same as the prior state; Lxx = apodidomi in aorist imperative) to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Psalm 76:11-note Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill (Heb = shalem = pay them back; Lxx = apodidomi) them; Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.
Psalm 94:2-note Rise up (imperative), O Judge of the earth, Render (Lxx = apodidomi in aorist imperative) recompense to the proud.
Psalm 94:23-note He has brought back (Lxx = apodidomi) their wickedness upon them And will destroy them in their evil; The LORD our God will destroy them.
Proverbs 17:13 He who returns (Lxx = apodidomi) evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house.
Jeremiah 22:13 "Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor's services without pay And does not give (Lxx = apodidomi) him his wages,
Jeremiah 32:18 (Lord God, Je 32:17) Who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays (Heb = shalem = pay them back; Lxx = apodidomi) the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The LORD of hosts is His name;
In the present context in 2Timothy 4:8 apodidomi refers to the award for faithful service from our Lord and Master Jesus, Who "will render (apodidomi) to every man according to his deeds (Ro 2:6-note)
Wuest pictures "Paul, the spiritual athlete, his victory won, is resting at the goal posts, awaiting the award which the judge’s stand will give him. (Wuest)
MacArthur comments that "Christ knows the value or inferiority of our service because His judgment is perfect. Christ will recompense us with the general reward of eternal righteousness and Christ-likeness, and any specific reward for our faithful service" for "on that day" the "righteous Judge" will "bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts and then each man's praise will come to him from God." (1Cor 4:5) for "each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire." (1Cor 3:13 14,15, Mt 25:29)
In the last chapter of the Revelation, Jesus reiterates the truth of divine reward which should cause all God's servants to search their hearts and motives and deeds "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render (apodidomi) to every man according to what he has done. (Rev 22:12-note)
MacArthur adds that "Selfishly motivated good deeds (Ed note: "bad" [see word study on phaulos] or worthless deeds 2Cor 5:10-note ~ "wood, hay, and stubble" 1Cor 3:12) may be of great help to other people and may be used by God for His glory, but they will merit no reward for the doer.
MacArthur goes on to illustrate this principle "In 1904, William Borden, a member of the Borden dairy family, finished high school in Chicago and was given a world cruise as a graduation present. Particularly while traveling through the Near East and Far East, he became heavily burdened for the lost. After returning home, he spent seven years at Princeton University, the first four in undergraduate work and the last three in seminary. While in school, he penned these words in the back of his Bible: “No reserves.” Although his family pleaded with him to take control of the business, which was foundering, he insisted that God’s call to the mission field had priority. After disposing of his wealth, he added “No retreat” after “No reserves.” On his way to China to witness to Muslims there, he contracted cerebral meningitis in Egypt and died within a month. After his death, someone looking through his Bible discovered these final words: “No regrets.” He knew that the Lord does not require success, only faithfulness...good work that is sincerely intended but not completed through no fault of the doer will merit a sincere doer’s reward, because it is the heart that God weighs. William Borden accomplished virtually none of the ministry he had envisioned, having been cut off by death even before he reached his field of service. But his final declaration of “No regrets” was well founded in the assurance that he had genuinely sought and faithfully obeyed the Lord’s will." (bolding added)
+++
THAT DAY
WHAT DAY?
On that day - as discussed above this time phrase (see expressions of time) almost certainly refers to the Judgment (Bema) Seat of Christ at which "we must all appear...that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (worthless)" (2Cor 5:10 cf Ro 14:10, 11, 12- notes Ro 14:10; 11; 12) (See Synopsis of End Time Judgments and Table comparing Rapture vs Second Coming)
Paul earlier had alluded to this day exulting that the Lord
is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day (2Ti 1:12-note)
Paul prayed for Onesiphorus that the
Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day" when he would be recompensed for faithful "services he rendered at Ephesus" (2Ti 1:18-note)
Life is the seedtime for eternity.
What are you planting?
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THE REAL MEANING OF REAL LIFE - Every year thousands of people commit suicide; in fact, the number of such deaths has been increasing at an alarming rate. The reason is not difficult to discover. Most educated people who do not know Jesus Christ believe we are the accidental products of evolution. They say there is nothing that has lasting value, and our actions whether good or bad are not of eternal consequence. In other words, they reject the idea of Heaven or Hell after death. As a result, most of these individuals are wretchedly unhappy, even though they may give themselves quite unreservedly to sensual pleasures. Without faith in God, life is absurd, tragic, and meaningless. Although it is popular to think in terms of living without God, it is becoming increasingly evident that human beings, created in the likeness and image of God, cannot live with such a concept
We see evidence of this in modern art. Many of us have laughed as we stood before such so-called "masterpieces." All we could see was an apparently meaningless mixture of lines, blots, and blurs. Yet these works are considered great from the artistic point of view because through them the painter has expressed his utter frustration with life as he sees it. They exhibit the feelings of his tortured soul. Indeed, some artists have committed suicide right after the completion of such a painting. The world is going mad because men who have been made for God are trying to live without Him!
How utterly different was Paul's concept. Because of Jesus Christ, life for him had real meaning. He looked forward to Heaven where he would receive a glorious reward for earthly faithfulness (2Ti 4:8). If you know Christ, thank God for the difference He makes. Then share this good news with others. (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
"To live is Christ," and death is "gain,"
If for the Lord we spend each day!
"Redeem the time" —'tis God's own gift,
Let us not squander it away!
—Bosch
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What Matters Most - In the mid-1970s, Ed Roberts created the world's first commercially successful personal computer (PC). He hired a 19-year-old named Bill Gates to write software for him.
Roberts sold his computer business in 1977 and bought a farm. Seven years later, at the age of 41, he entered medical school. Today Bill Gates is the head of the largest software company in the world. Ed Roberts is a physician in a small Georgia town.
Roberts says, "The implication is that the PC is the most important thing I've ever done, and I don't think that's true. Every day I deal with things that are equally if not more important here with my patients."
How can we evaluate the significance of our lives? Something deep inside tells us that such a thing cannot be measured by wealth and fame.
As we look at the apostle Paul's turbulent life, it seems noteworthy that he approached the end with a peaceful sense of successful completion. He wrote, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2Ti 4:7). Paul looked confidently not to the world but to "the Lord, the righteous Judge," for approval and reward (2Ti 4:8).
How do you measure the significance of your life? Only God can tell you what matters most. — David C. McCasland (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
Since sooner than later we'll face our Creator,
Whose gaze pierces through to the heart,
Let's make sure our dreams, our goals, and grand schemes
Have Christ in our plans from the start. —Gustafson
The measure of a life
is determined by the Ruler of the universe.
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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A LIFE - In the mid-1970s, Ed Roberts created the world's first commercially successful personal computer (PC). He hired a 19-year-old named Bill Gates to write software for him. Roberts sold his computer business in 1977 and bought a farm. Seven years later, at the age of 41, he entered medical school. Today Bill Gates is the head of the largest software company in the world. Ed Roberts is a physician in a small Georgia town. Roberts says
The implication is that the PC is the most important thing I've ever done, and I don't think that's true. Every day I deal with things that are equally if not more important here with my patients.
How can we evaluate the significance of our lives? Something deep inside tells us that such a thing cannot be measured by wealth and fame. As we look at the apostle Paul's turbulent life, it seems noteworthy that he approached the end with a peaceful sense of successful completion. He wrote, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2Ti 4:7). Paul looked confidently not to the world but to "the Lord, the righteous Judge," for approval and reward (2Ti 4:8).
How do you measure the significance of your life? Only God can tell you what matters most. --D C McCasland (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) (Bolding and color added)
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