God’s View of You
Sometimes I think we imagine that God is mostly disappointed with us. That He puts up with us and bears with us because He has to (after all He is love), but most of the time our glaring weaknesses weary Him and make His day miserable.
Of course, this is the devil’s doing in our minds. The truth of scripture bears out that the world has to get staunch-raving evil before God is totally weary of us. And the stories in the Old Testament remind us with each passing character that God is patient, loving and kind to His very flawed inconsistent servants.
Saul is a case study of this.
His lineage will not hold the kingdom, that has already been stated from the mishap of offering the sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel to arrive in 1 Samuel 13. His next great gaff will happen in the chapter to come in 1 Samuel 15 where his own kingship will be taken from him and the anointing placed on one soon to come. Yes, God will regret making Saul king and we’ll talk about that next. But for now, let’s stay in the stream of Biblical thought in the narrative.
With all these mistakes, you would think Saul has God ready to wipe him off the planet. But sandwiched by these terrible mistakes of Saul which cost him so much in terms of legacy on Earth, the record in scripture also affirms the many triumphs of his reign. Take the end of 1 Samuel 14 for instance:
1 Samuel 14:47–48 (ESV) When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them. 48 And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
That’s some high praise for Saul. Even I, after having slowly gone through his life would have a hard time seeing this passage coming. But it’s there, in black and white in Holy Scripture to help us understand something about the Lord. Our record is not perfect, but the things we do to serve Him will be remembered and recorded forever.
Need proof? Consider how Jesus illustrates the home-coming welcome of His servants in the parable of the talents: Matthew 25:21 (ESV) His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.
Consider what the writer of Hebrews says about those who still need to mature!
Hebrews 6:10 (ESV) For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.”
Jesus will return with His reward to repay each one according to their deeds.
No, God is not in heaven just putting up with weak, inconsistent and faulty saints because He has to or because He has no other options. He could have angels wipe out the Earth and start over tomorrow. No, God is in heaven seeing and recording what you do right. And the blood of Jesus wipes out what you’ve done wrong. That’s a powerful lesson for us.
Today is the first day of a New Year. Someone needs to approach this year as if God is pleased with them and not ticked off at them. It could be the difference in your daily choices. Living from the approval of God is far more powerful than living from His supposed angst. You have approval in Christ. Now get going!
Of course, this is the devil’s doing in our minds. The truth of scripture bears out that the world has to get staunch-raving evil before God is totally weary of us. And the stories in the Old Testament remind us with each passing character that God is patient, loving and kind to His very flawed inconsistent servants.
Saul is a case study of this.
His lineage will not hold the kingdom, that has already been stated from the mishap of offering the sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel to arrive in 1 Samuel 13. His next great gaff will happen in the chapter to come in 1 Samuel 15 where his own kingship will be taken from him and the anointing placed on one soon to come. Yes, God will regret making Saul king and we’ll talk about that next. But for now, let’s stay in the stream of Biblical thought in the narrative.
With all these mistakes, you would think Saul has God ready to wipe him off the planet. But sandwiched by these terrible mistakes of Saul which cost him so much in terms of legacy on Earth, the record in scripture also affirms the many triumphs of his reign. Take the end of 1 Samuel 14 for instance:
1 Samuel 14:47–48 (ESV) When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them. 48 And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
That’s some high praise for Saul. Even I, after having slowly gone through his life would have a hard time seeing this passage coming. But it’s there, in black and white in Holy Scripture to help us understand something about the Lord. Our record is not perfect, but the things we do to serve Him will be remembered and recorded forever.
Need proof? Consider how Jesus illustrates the home-coming welcome of His servants in the parable of the talents: Matthew 25:21 (ESV) His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.
Consider what the writer of Hebrews says about those who still need to mature!
Hebrews 6:10 (ESV) For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.”
Jesus will return with His reward to repay each one according to their deeds.
No, God is not in heaven just putting up with weak, inconsistent and faulty saints because He has to or because He has no other options. He could have angels wipe out the Earth and start over tomorrow. No, God is in heaven seeing and recording what you do right. And the blood of Jesus wipes out what you’ve done wrong. That’s a powerful lesson for us.
Today is the first day of a New Year. Someone needs to approach this year as if God is pleased with them and not ticked off at them. It could be the difference in your daily choices. Living from the approval of God is far more powerful than living from His supposed angst. You have approval in Christ. Now get going!
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