Today’s Scripture Reading (January 1,
2013): 1 Samuel 31
So much of
what we do reflects – and in some ways must be paid for by – our children. If
there was ever an argument in favor of the fiscal responsibility of our governments
or the care of our environment or the careful consumption of our natural
resources, this should be the argument that carries the most weight because we
know the reality. The question that should drive us forward is simply this –
what kind of a world is it that I want to leave for my children – or my grandchildren.
It is hard to play with my granddaughter, Emilina, and not care about the world
that she will grow up in or about the world in which she will become an adult
and bring her children into.
Saul had
lost the crown through his own actions. But it could not be just Saul that
would pay the price. The reality was that when Saul died, the natural order of
things would demand that one of Saul’s sons would take the throne. So the price
that Saul would have to pay would also have to be paid by his sons.
But it was
not just the avoidance of a lengthy civil war between the house of Saul and the
forces of David that needed to be averted (actually the death of Saul’s sons
would not avoid the civil war – it would still come.) But Jonathan and David
were friends and had shared life together. There is reason to believe that even
if Jonathan had lived, knowing that God desired David as the king of the nation
that he would not have presented the crown to his friend. But David also needed
to learn to depend on God – and to know that he had received the crown from God
alone. But all of this was a future that Saul had created with his actions.
As we look
into the New Year, we need to look forward into the future that we are
creating. What inheritance are we leaving for them? May success this year be
measured as we look beyond ourselves and into the world that we are preparing
for the ones that will come after us.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2
Samuel 1
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