Faith - an every day thing

by Ben

I finished off 1 Samuel by reading chapters 23-31.

We learn more about David and Saul's interactions. Even though Saul hates David (and chases him throughout the country) David does not return the anger. Twice David allows Saul to live, when all those around him think he should finish him off. David stands firm on the ideal that Saul is God's annointed one.

The tension between Saul and David continues even to Saul's death (he was killed by the Philistines). There's a neat little commentary regarding Saul in the Student's Life Application Bible. It reads:

"Saul's death was also the death of an ideal - Israel could no longer believe that having a king like the other nations would solve all their troubles. The real problem was not the form of government, but the sinful king. Saul tries to please God with spurts of religiosity, but real spirituality takes a lifetime of consistent obedience.

Heroic, spiritual lives are built by stacking days of obedience one on top of the other. Like a brick, each obedient act is small in itself, but in time the acts pile up, building a huge wall of strong character - a great defense against temptation. We should strive for consistent obedience each day."

I think if there is one lesson that all Christians need a refresher on, it is this one. We often think that we've "got our prayer time in" or "done our spiritual work for the day." This isn't a 9-5 or even 9-noon (on Sundays) kinda thing. We have to work at fighting sin. We have to strive to follow God's path. Every moment of every day.