FULFILLING YOUR DESTINY

He was a wise young man, a coal miner who became a lawyer by studying at night school. First he learnt shorthand, then he found work in a law office. Later, when his shorthand improved, he became a court reporter. He attended law school at night and passed his bar exams. Then he received a call from God for missionary service. He even knew the place - Burma (Myanmar). She was the most popular girl in her class, but never took any of her suitors seriously. She too, had received a call from God. After high school, she enrolled at a newly-founded Missionary College in preparation for answering that call. Each of them might well have been named "Most likely to Succeed" by society's standards, but they both had other standards in mind. They wanted to serve God above anything else. They met at that Missionary College. It was inevitable that they should decide to get married. Together they prayed and looked forward to their missionary service. They were married the day after graduation. Before their appointment to Burma came through, there was complications. Her need to recuperate from an extremely difficult labour prompted them to postpone their acceptance for a year. The next year brought a flu epidemic. It nearly took his life and did claim the life of their little son. The overwhelming medical bills caused another delay. To get out of debt, he became very much involved in his law practice. The third year brought another baby. The father, now a successful lawyer, was in the midst of a contested probate where a godly widow had left a huge sum of money to missions. Her ungodly children were using all kinds of legal manoeu-vres to keep that Mission from receiving the funds. He felt he could not leave for Burma until the case was settled. He rationalized that he was fulfilling his call by serving as an attorney for God's work and that the delay in going to Burma must have been God's will. That law case took four years to resolve. Once again he applied as a missionary, but this time only half-heartedly. He now had three small children and with relief he accepted the Mission Board's notification: they could not use him in the field. Burma had been closed to mission-aries. His law practice continued to flourish. His monthly donations supported several mission-aries. He served on the Board of Directors for several Missions and through his generosity several churches were started. I attended their 45th wedding anniversary celebration and heard that very attractive older couple declare their happiness and sense of fulfilment and their love for the Lord and one another. They were never to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. She passed on and he became frail in health. At that time I was a young missionary and greatly discouraged in my ministry, thinking that I might better serve the Lord in some other way. I considered "tent-making" as Paul had done. The idea had always appealed to me. Because there is an onus on me being a missionary to the Jews, it would be so much easier if I could continue to witness but say that I was a shoe-salesman or a teacher - anything respectable - anything but a missionary to the Jews, which was not at all "respectable"! I shared my burden with the elderly lawyer because I knew and respected him greatly. That was when he told me a shocking secret - one he had kept even from his closest associates. He probably confided in me because I needed to hear his words and I have never forgotten them. He said, "I've had a happy life, but not a joyous one. I've made and given away a fortune. I have the love and respect of many, but I did not fulfil my destiny! It's easy to excuse myself by saying that circumstances dictated another call, but only in the last year of my wife's life could we admit to one another that we had chosen to do second best. I am not unhappy, but I am not fulfilled.” Then he added something that helped me overcome my discouragement. He said, "I recognize that you are a man of destiny. You have a call from God. Don't do anything less than what He has called you to do.” He died shortly after that. He was a man who taught me many things. He certainly was a godly man. I can testify to that. He was happy and successful, but by his own admission, he had not fulfilled his destiny! Moishe Rosen (With kind permission from “Jews for Jesus”, SA).