The highest level of maturity is duty.
– C. M. Ward
To protect themselves from hostile Indians, pioneer settlers built stockades around their settlements, each with a high pole. On top of these poles was an iron receptacle filled with flammable material.
When Indians would come, the material was lighted as a signal. One day some of the settlers were surrounded by murderous Indians armed with poisoned arrows.
When a brave youth climbed the pole to light the signal, poisoned arrows pierced his body, and he fell lifeless to the ground. Seeing the lighted fire, the nearby settlers came to the rescue.
On a marker over this youth’s grave were these words: “He saved others, Himself he could not save.”
This young man understood duty.
“He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.” (Matt. 27:42 NIV).
Jesus did not want to die, but He understood duty. Duty gets things done no matter how difficult the task may be. There will always be things in life that we do not want to do, but if we have a strong sense of duty – if we are mature – we will face them and trust God to see us through.
It is our duty to share the Gospel with the world. Every now and then, when I’m in a restaurant and God tells me the waiter is not saved, I have to remind myself that witnessing to people is not an option or a suggestion. It is my duty!
The great part about all this is, when I do my duty, obey God, and do what is right, I always stand back afterwards and wonder, “Why was I so uptight about this, anyway? What was the big deal?”
I’ve come to realize that the “big deal” is that God is growing me up into a mature man! So the next time you have the opportunity to share Jesus Christ, do your duty! Not only are you performing your mission, but you will be growing up in God.
Excerpt permission granted by Albury Publishing
Carman Domenic Licciardello is an enigma in Christian music, often described as part evangelist, part Vegas Showman. His concerts were more like a rock and roll Billy Graham Crusade than a Christian music event. After all the singing, dancing, clapping, and preaching, crowds of people would stream down to the counseling area to accept Christ-many times as many as 5,000 in an evening.
Admission was usually free; a simple offering was taken, similar to 30,000 churches on Sunday mornings. And he filled the largest stadiums the world over. Carman held the record for the largest Christian concert ever in Dallas, Texas. But it even goes beyond that. Take the Mega Stadium acts that played the famed landmark such as Pink Floyd, U 2, Madonna, The Jackson Five, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, and even Metallic. As the newspapers noted, you'll see that the one-act that drew the highest attendance in Texas Stadium was Carman, with 71,132.
Carman (1956-2021) was a popular contemporary Christian singer and songwriter.
Born Carman Licciardello, he began recording under his first name and released his debut album in 1980. Carman began charting contemporary Christian hits in 1984 with "Sunday's on the Way," reaching No. 1 with "The Champion" (1986) and "Radically Saved" (1988). His other hit songs include "Lord of All," "Jesus Is the Light," and "Satan, Bite the Dust!" Carman reportedly holds the world record for the largest audience at a Christian concert. His popularity was at its height in the 1980s and early '90s, but he continued releasing albums for years, including his most recent release, 2014's "No Plan B." In 2018, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
