King Saul. Oh. He was the first king of Israel, and he was a complicated man. He never asked to be king, but he was chosen by God to serve his nation. He didn’t know how to be a king. And he blew it big time. He blew it so bad that God instructed the prophet Samuel to tell him that the kingdom would be taken from his family. None of his sons or anyone in his family line would ever be king of Israel. A different family line would be placed on the throne after Saul. What a blow to an arrogant man’s ego.
Saul didn’t start out in a royal kind of life. He was from the smallest family of the smallest tribe of Israel. He seemed to start out on the right foot in his kingly life, but things went downhill. He had great military success. Wherever he turned, he was victorious in battle because God was on his side. After all, God chose him out of all the other Jewish men to lead the nation. But Saul got ahead of himself. He didn’t remain faithful to God and refused to obey his commands. God rejected Saul and was sorry he had made him king.
In one particular battle, God commanded Saul through the prophet Samuel to kill every living being. This meant every man, woman, child and animal should be wiped out. This may sound like a harsh command, but God knew that anyone from the opposing side who was allowed to live was a threat to his people. But Saul decided to keep some of the best animals for himself, and he captured the opposing king and let him live. Oh. Saul defeated the other king’s army and slaughtered everyone and everything else, but he didn’t fully obey God.
Samuel stopped by to check in with Saul. Saul greeted him with open arms and proclaimed that he had carried out the Lord’s command. But Samuel asked why he could hear animals. Oh. Saul said. We saved some of the best animals to sacrifice to the Lord. And then Samuel laid him out right there. He told Saul that because of his disobedience, God had removed his blessing from Saul. But Saul insisted that he had obeyed God. Samuel said no. Obedience is better than burnt offerings and sacrifice. He told Saul that rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols.
You can read this story in 1 Samuel 15.
Saul’s disobedience cost him and his family the royal throne. While Saul thought that partial obedience was obedience, it really wasn’t. It cost him his soul. His obligation was to fully obey God to the fullest extent. And he didn’t. He had a rebellious streak that he pitted against God. Rebelling against God is never a winning strategy.
What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me? Psalms 116:12
If we call ourselves a Christian, we have certain obligations. Oh. We may not like to hear that, but hear me out. To call oneself a Christian means that we have confessed our sins to God and repented of them. We turn our back on sinning and begin to walk in the teachings of Christ. We are Christ followers. And what Jesus Christ did for us before we confessed our sins was to die on the cross. He did that willingly and in accordance with God’s plan. Because once Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit in the garden, God offered a plan of redemption so we wouldn’t be doomed to hell for eternity. He offered us a way out of living in sin. And when we are forgiven, we are freed from our past. We can live forgiven, and we are no longer under a death sentence.
But is a free gift really free? The gift of salvation came with a huge price. Jesus died for everyone else’s salvation, so no one else would have to die. Christian faith costs something when we pick up our cross and follow Christ. The cross represented suffering, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Anyone flippant about Christianity isn’t serious about their faith.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24
Some may think Jesus is cool without ever taking their beliefs into consideration. Being a Christian doesn’t mean we have to be cool. Because very often, the Christian will be on the low end of the coolness meter, according to those on the other side of the fence. Christians don’t need to be cool. They need to be humble. Humility is a symbol of bowing to one’s own desires and submitting to the will of our heavenly Father. Obedience to the Father’s will is liberating.
We want to learn from Saul’s lesson of disobedience. Partial obedience is not obedience. We can’t have it both ways. We can’t just obey God fully when it pleases us and then turn around and partially obey. Dying to ourselves requires full surrender to God’s will and commands.
Religion is not a warm electric blanket, it’s the cross, and the cross holds the suffering of the world. This is a very profound symbol of human suffering and failure of community, that they can be presented with the child of God and crucify him. We live in a fallen world. To make it all nice and to make it all warm and fuzzy, you’re not really talking about faith.
Ethan Hawke
Mercy for the Day 