I have to write about this because it won’t leave me alone.  It has come up in conversations I’ve had 2 or 3 times over the last week.  In that same time frame, I’ve heard it discussed on a couple of occasions by someone I was listening to.  It’s a statement made by the 6th president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, but not while he was president.  Adams served several years in Congress after his presidency and was once asked why he continued to pound on an issue (and a noble one it was) when it seemed hopeless due to the great opposition he faced.  In his reply, President-turned-Congressman Adams simply said, “Duty is ours; results are God’s.”  He knew the cause for which he stood was just and right, and his responsibility was to stand up, speak up, and not back up.  Which is what he did, although he never saw the results.  But he did fulfill his duty.  Serving the Lord is often like that.  We work and work, yet we sometimes do not see the full fruit of what we do.  Well, in that moment we must make a choice.  Do we give up?  Or do we keep working?  Do we step down or do we step up to the plate and keep swinging?  These thoughts brought me back to our theme verse this year at Berean, 1 Corinthians 15:58.  It also took me to Ecclesiastes 12:13, where our duty is simply stated.  “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”  That’s good advice, Congressman Adams; thank you for reminding me.  “Duty is ours; results are God’s.”