But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king. – 1 Samuel 12:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 4, 2012): 1 Samuel 12

We have a unity problem. I am not sure that we would admit that, but we do. And where it seems to rear its ugly head is in the competitions between the Christian divisions. I honestly believe that among the main line Christian denominations there is 90% to 95% that we agree on. Even the differences between the Protestant and Catholic belief systems are swiftly disappearing. I openly admit that that I think that the Protestants may have swung too far away from the center. So, when I was growing up, Ash Wednesday and the season of Advent were foreign concepts to me, but today they are being reclaimed by the Protestant Church, and model came from our Catholic brothers and sisters. I have freely admitted that I think I have my theology 90% right. Some are offended by that, but I think it would be pride to go beyond that number – and it would also mean that I am no longer learning. But my big problem is that I am not sure where the 10% is where I am wrong. So, I need to depend on God. My theology might be wrong in some places, but I count daily on the presence of God – and the gifts of God – to keep me going. And if we need a spot for the unity to start, that might be the place.

Samuel begins to reveal the real reason why Israel demanded a king like the ones that the surrounding nations had. And it is because the kings of the surrounding nations were threatening Israel – and they seemed to be in possession of the one thing that Israel had not – unity. And somehow, even though God had continually called the tribes of Israel – the sons of Jacob - to unite as brothers under his banner, Israel perceived that the unity problem was God’s fault – and a human king would be the solution needed to fix the problem. And even though God had been faithful, and he had always solved the problems that had faced his children, the bottom line was that Israel had lost trust in God.

What Israel seemed to be unable to realize was that no matter what system of government they would institute, they would always stand in need of God. And the future of the nation would often depend on a unity that they could only get from God - because we have been designed by God to do life together. And what was true for Israel is still true today. The Christian Church is never as strong as when they unite under God’s banner and decide to stand together.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 13