Jun 9: 1 Samuel 8:4-9
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 8:7
And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
Devotion:
I think this is one of the saddest portions of scripture we can read… the point where God tells the one who is listening to Him how the people are rejecting God… Often when we try to reach out to people about God we get rejected simply because people are too caught up in the world and what it has to offer to see their real needs in life. It is not that they are rejecting us, but that they are rejecting Christ as their King!
We can see how people get caught up in sports and go out of their way to reach a spots match just to see their team, but they will not go out of their way to find a church where they can meet with God. People all around the world get caught up in upholding their country, their leaders and their ways of life instead of upholding a decent way of living. Too few countries promote living together in peace and love!
Jesus tried hard to get people to see they were intentionally breaking down the right way of living by promoting their own self-imposed ways or promoting themselves instead of the love and grace of God. We see this all around us in our modern world too.
We should not take it personally in thinking people are rejecting us, but we should take it personally for Christ because they are rejecting Him. Some may say they are not, but they are choosing a way of life which excludes Christ as Lord and King of us all...
Points to Ponder:
Do you promote Christ as your leader?
How often do you promote sports or other leaders?