I Chronicles 28:9 (NIV)

 As for you, my son  Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

Written in my Bible, given to me by Texas Christian University students nearly 40 years ago, are these words by I Chronicles 28:9: “Remember to share this verse with my loved ones before I die.”  Now I must have written those words in my Bible many years ago as I don’t recall having studied Chronicles since my earlier days as a rededicated Christian where I read through the entire Bible.  As I read through my relatively new Bible back then, I would write down thoughts by many verses and passages that impacted my heart and soul then (and still do today). 

Why do I want to share this verse with my children (and now my grandchildren)?  Just as King David was writing to his son, Solomon, I am wanting my progeny to (1) know God as I’ve tried to know Him; (2) serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind as I have tried to do; (3) realize that the Lord searches everyone’s heart and understand every intent of everyone’s thoughts; (4) know that if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; and (5) be fully aware of the warning that if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.  Each of these reasons for why I want my children and grandchildren to be aware of this verse is loaded with sobering truth and power beyond belief.

I want my children and grandchildren and all others in my family to know God.  To know God means to “know Him by experience”.  It is not a casual knowledge, it is intimate knowledge that only can come from a consistent effort to worship, pray, study His Word, and follow His commandments. 

I desire my children and grandchildren to serve the Lord with a whole heart and willing mind.  The words “whole” and “willing” express the imagery of someone who is proactive and resourceful in his/her service, not a casual or lazy Christian.  Christian service is defined in Romans 12 that emphasizes Christian love for others.  God is always looking for the person who wants to do what Romans 12 teaches.  Such a person most definitely has a whole heart and willing mind. 

I hope that my children and grandchildren realize the truth that the Lord searches all hearts and understands every thought and every intent.  It takes great faith to believe in the Lord and His incomprehensible characteristics that includes omniscience, the power to know all things.

Finally, I pray that my children and grandchildren desire and know how to seek the Lord and never have any inkling to forsake Him.  It takes proactivity and devotion to seek the Lord, being a Christian is not being lazy. Seeking is pursuing and the primary way to seek the Lord is to devote quality time and effort to read His Word and understand it sufficiently to apply it in your life.  So to know how to seek the Lord is simply knowing how to discipline yourself to spend time studying the Bible and maintaining that commitment for the rest of your life.  A person who seeks the Lord in this way will never have any inkling to forsake Him.  But, a person who is lazy and does not put in the time and effort to get to know God by studying His Word and then applying it in your life is a person who risks forsaking God and being rejected by Him.  Why ever take that risk?

Only God knows the intents of the heart and can judge a person.  I can never judge my children and grandchildren whether or not they follow the truths of this verse.  I can only hope and pray for them and make sure that they know that this verse exists.  That’s why I wrote that I must share this verse with them before I die.  I hope that whoever reads this would feel encouraged to do the same thing with your loved ones.