Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 9:21, And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”
On the surface, Saul’s response to Samuel is a humble response. However, when we look closely at what he says, we see that it is not completely honest. We know from verse 1 that his family is prominent. There are those who are truly humble, then there are those who pretend to be, but something in their life brings out who they really are. Eventually we see that Saul’s true colors shine forth once he is on the throne as the first king of Israel. Nonetheless, let us focus on the humility behind Saul’s response. As followers of Jesus, we must remember that we are just that, followers. We should not be the ones leading, and we should mindful of the fact that we are who we are by God’s grace. That means that all our talents and abilities were given to us by God, and all that we have has been allowed by God. Yes, it is true that some of us have gotten more by putting in work and effort, but we must stop and consider that it was God who gave us the health and strength to do it. No matter how we slice life, you and I cannot leave God out of the equation. Our goal in life is to be like John the Baptist who said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” in John 3:30. In Romans 12:3, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Galatians 6:3 also reiterates, “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” The ultimate example of humility was, and is, Jesus. Philippians 2:5-8 says this about our King and Savior, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Jesus did not come flaunting the fact that He is God. He did not come by way of a family of prominence. No, instead He chose to come to this world with humility, ready to lay down His own will, His own life, and submit to the Father’s plan for our salvation. This is the mind that is to be in us. Regardless of what position God exalts us to in the church or in the world, we must never forget that we are there as part of God’s plan for our lives, and we must live a life of submission to Him. We are to take up our cross daily (Matthew 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; Luke 14:27). I purposely list all the places in the Gospels where Jesus says this, because it demonstrates the importance of humility in our words, actions, and deeds. Philippians 2:3 puts it like this, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” Saul’s response resonated with humility, but his heart was far from it. This was proven later during his reign. We must be very careful that we not allow the successes that God allows in our lives convince us that we are more than we really are. The bottom line is that we are sinners saved by God’s grace. It was not our good works, or the fact that we were anything special that gained us eternal life (Titus 3:5-7). It was strictly Jesus’ righteousness, and it is still His righteousness that continues to give us favor with our Heavenly Father. Let our humility not just be in words, but let it be in the way we think, the way we behave toward others, and the way we submit to our Lord and Savior.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
No comments:
Post a Comment