They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." (1 Samuel 8:5,NIV)
Okay. I am not enjoying using Israel as an example of our common spiritual condition of haughtiness, nastiness, and powerlessness. It’s all worn out by… everyone! I hate it. Still, “hate” is a no-no for a Christian to say, huh? So, for the effects of after-writing guilt, I’m saying “dislike”. It suits better for our purpose, now? But… back to the point!
Let’s skip back to Deuteronomy 17:14-20, Moses is giving commands about the selection of a king. And, surprisingly, verse 14 starts, “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us…" (NIV, of course!) Four-hundred-years before even the conquest of Canaan happened! How great is our God!
God already warned that His future generations will want a human king as their leader!
Now, here’s the down-side. Israel wanted a king like the other nations ! There laid the problem! They envied their surrounding countries, and they wanted to… “fit in” as we speak. (Same with us, people! In a moment!) They have rejected God Himself.
This is where I find a pickle. We are to live like we are not from this world, we are not to conform by this world, but we live in this world. And this is a major pickle: am I really forced to say the same examples people say on Bible studies? Are we to look up to a person, or not, be it the most godly they can be? I know our eyes should be ever fixed on Jesus Christ, but do I really have to write a devotional blog because “(name of big preacher) is doin’ it”? Yes, it’s not bad to do many things; the reason is the motive.
Oh, those gut-wrenching feelings when you know you’re convicted of something! I guess this is what we need…er…God needs to work in us. Even for putting a jacket because it’s “like the other nations”, we are holding accountable for that (and I need to listen to my own sermons!), not because we need it. Sorry for this; I’m off today, or night. It’s the fact that there are a lot of things that we do “like the other nations”, that we need to change, step up, do what the Lord sends us to do, and rest in His grace. This walk gets complicated every second more. We are to be separate, unlike others. We can have fun and do everything, but we should be distinguished for God, not what we have on. (And yes, I wore a jacket for school! Stupid guilt!)
And lastly, on what note do I end? Writing wasn’t planned today; it’s starting to get late! Should I keep using pet words to finish, or go with self-righteousness? I feel lost, like the other nations. And I have Christ! Has the light vanished? I don’t think so. Has the grace vanished? Nope; not that neither. Then why do I feel lost, like the other nations? Am I being too harsh, like they are at themselves too? Then all the other nations need Him as much as I need him.
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