April 21

Thou hast showed unto Thy servant David my father great mercy. — 1 Kgs 3:6

Solomon felt an obligation to be worthy because of the blessing God had shown to his father. We often talk of the responsibility of parents for their children, but we should think also of the responsibility of children for their parents.

Before David died he gave Solomon some advice: “Be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man, … that the Lord may establish His word which He spake concerning me.” The fulfillment of God’s promises to David would depend upon Solomon’s faithfulness. What David had done was but the beginning; it was Solomon’s mission to take up and continue his work.

An honoured parentage is a good heritage. It puts one under tremendous responsibility, too, for its blessings are a sacred trust, which must be kept unsullied, and accounted for. To be unfaithful in such circumstances is not only to leave our work undone, but to mar, possibly destroy, the good work of others, which had been put into our hands to finish.