First Reading (1 Samuel 4: 1-11)
The Israelites were losing the battle with the Philistines and they decide to bring the Ark of the Lord to the battlefield. When the Ark of the Lord arrives, Israel gives out a victory shout which terrifies the Philistines. The Philistines had heard about the God of Israel and what HE has done to save HIS people. The Philistines decide, if we have to go let’s go with a BANG! And they fight the Israelites with all that they have.
AND, the Philistines win!
Israel lost thirty thousand soldiers that day, the two sons of the Prophet Eli who were with the Ark of the Lord were killed and the Ark of the Lord was captured by the Philistines.
What really happened here?
God moved the heaven and earth to bring the Israelites out of Egypt… but when things became easy, the Israelites took God for granted. They lived to satisfy their hunger and their lust. They lived separated from God, and they lived in sin. On the day of the battle with the Philistines, they took the Ark of the Lord to the battlefield – but the Lord did not go with them.
God was not theirs to be used. HE is to be worshipped, to be honoured, to be loved by the people HE calls HIS own.
Unfortunately we still continue this pattern… we easily fall into the sin of taking God for granted. We begin by not having time for HIM, and move on to hating the things HE loves and loving the things HE hates… Slowly but surely, a day will come when we can’t run away from the consequences of our wrong living. On that day, we try to use HIM again, and we find out for ourselves, HE is not our's to be used.
Second Reading (Mark 1: 40-45)
A leper falls at the feet of Jesus and says, “if you are willing, you can make me clean”. Jesus moved with pity, touches the leper and says “I am willing, be clean!”. The leprosy leaves him immediately and he was made clean.
The day when the consequences of my wrong living catch up with me is indeed a day of blessing. That would be the day that my eyes would open and I realize my sin of trying to use HIM to continue to live a life separated from HIM. And that would be the day that I would fall at HIS feet and say “if you are willing, you can make me clean”.HE is waiting to say the words… “I am willing, be clean”. I am sure, even before I could complete the sentence, I would be made clean of my sin, my guilt, and my shame.
Yet, I do not want to wait for that day… I want to fall at HIS feet every day and hear HIM say the words “I am willing, be clean”. In fact, I do not want leave HIS feet at all, because all that I am looking for is right there at HIS feet, and so much more.
Can you imagine? It was the Ark of the Covenant - and it fell into the hands of the enemy! How often do we take God for granted? We don't make any time for Him in our lives. Perhaps a minute of two, we "think" about Him. And then we reoccupy ourselves with our daily issues in life.
ReplyDeleteAnd then one day, we lose it all - our spouse, our family, our home, our finances..... We experience what the Israelites experienced.
If one has never been in this situation, you can never understand the severity of the situation. Fortunately, I have. And God restored what I lost. So, do not wait for the "enemy" to plunder your belongings for you to realise the importance of God in your life.
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DeletePraise the Lord! Thanks for sharing Bro, And, HE does not stop at restoring what we have lost but takes us deeper into HIS heart. Your own life is a testimony to that!
ReplyDeleteThen, just as it is said in the song, our experience becomes...
"When I've found the joy of reaching Your heart,
When my will becomes enthralled in Your love,
When all things that surround Become shadows in the light of You".