What’s your purpose?

David Bailey, General Manager

It was an overcast day on Nov. 19, 1863, when Abraham Lincoln gave the speech known as the Gettysburg Address. Today, it’s engraved in the walls of the Lincoln Memorial in our nation’s capital. But back then, the speech was marking the dedication of a national cemetery for proper burial of the Union soldiers who died at the site during the Battle of Gettysburg that July.

It was an unpleasant job, but Lincoln ended his speech with a now famous promise, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”

That famous line is believed to have been borrowed from John Wycliffe’s prologue to his 1384 English translation of the Bible. Wycliffe wrote that his translation is meant for “the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People.”

A Catholic priest who believed the Bible should be available to all. Forty-four years after Wycliffe’s death, the Catholic Church despised Wycliffe’s work so much that they confirmed him to be a heretic. The Church exhumed his body from the church burial grounds, burned it to ashes and cast the ashes into the river. But despite the attacks on Wycliffe, his work began the process of making the Bible available to millions of common people.

Neither Lincoln nor Wycliffe could have known the impact their work would have. Fortunately, we don’t need to know the outcome of our actions to serve God’s purpose in our lives. In Acts 13:36, Paul sums up David’s life like this: “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.”

Notice that there’s no mention of retirement or the king enjoying life in his palace. He lived his life with God’s purpose and passed on. That should be the example we follow. I would like for each of you to take a moment and reflect on what God’s purpose is in your own life.

That isn’t always an easy thing to define when life comes at us so quickly on a daily basis. It would be great if we could see a year in advance to know what each decision will bring but we don’t have that luxury.

As a parent and grandparent, I won’t see every way that God uses my kids and grandkids in my lifetime. All I can do is live my life knowing that there are little eyes and big eyes watching me and pray that God won’t let me blow it. My prayer is that they will seek Him and always follow His purpose.

The same is true for South Alabama Electric Cooperative, which was formed to bring our members electricity in an efficient and reliable manner. I try my best to seek His guidance in every decision we make. Sometimes that can mean making choices that members will not understand until years later. But as long as we are seeking God’s direction, I know our members will be OK.

As we mark the Fourth of July, this month is also a great time for us to reflect on the purpose God has for our country. Often, it can be difficult to separate our own purpose and dreams from God’s will. It appears to me that there is a lot of pursuing our own purpose in this country and not God’s.

Still, as we celebrate Independence Day, I encourage everyone to think about the greatness of this country and its foundation on God, not men and women. As people, we can’t be perfect but God is. If we seek His will like Lincoln and Wycliffe did, we can experience our own rebirth just as this great nation did. Until next month, stay safe. 

Mailing address

P.O. Box 449 Troy, AL 36081

Phone 334-566-2060

800-556-2060

Website www.southaec.com

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P.O. Box 449 Troy, AL 36081

WEBSITE www.southaec.com

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Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

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