2006-10-18 - Honoring the Lord

1 Samuel 2:30, "For those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed."

It's hard to learn lessons the hard way, but we often do. This verse here is one that we would be wise to learn early in life, but regardless of where we are in life, it is one we should apply to our lives in the present - God promise. (These are His words to Eli but they are recorded in Scripture, and they are therefore also for us.), that He will honor those who honor Him. Part of that promise is that He will also think lightly of those who despise Him. There are obvious lessons for us here.

The God of justice is saying what we already know to be true - that we reap what we sow. We end up gathering that which we scatter. Our lives, our experiences, are often our own echo -- so does life repeat itself. We may live to see the fruits of our own sins marching like a parade before us.

But it is also true with faithfulness. By God's grace, we may also see the joys that often accompany faithfulness. When we are faithful to the Lord, He is faithful to us. It is amazing is that even in our lack or failure to be faithful, the Lord is still faithful. The sun still comes up, the rain still falls, even when in our actions, thoughts, or desires we have forsaken Him. But let us not forget this promise: Those who honor the Lord, He will Himself honor.

We see this in Scripture. Enoch walks with God. God is apparently pleased with him, because God takes him to glory (Genesis 5:22-24). Abraham's faith is extolled several times in the New Testament, but what are we told in Genesis 15:6? We are told that God reckoned his faith as righteousness to him. We see this also in the reverse. Do you remember Adoni-Bezek in the book of Judges? In chapter one of Judges, we read of his capture. He had his thumbs and big toes cut off. His response in verse 7 was, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me."

Think about that the next time you are about to withhold kindness from someone. There are others we could look at. Consider Agag, or Hamen - who hung on his own gallows. We see this verse living itself out in Scripture, and it would be no stretch to multiply examples from non-Biblical history.

Let us honor the Lord. Let not that dark hour when the disciples all forsook Him be repeated in our lives. Let us not be cowardly in our faith. We have a promise to serve as a foundation here: if we honor the Lord, He will honor us.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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