The Final Assessment

Moms 90thWe arrived home from Atlanta in time to join my family at White Fence Farm in Lakewood to celebrate my mom’s 90th birthday, which was today. My brother was able to come from California for the event. (Picture of my brother, sister, mom and me)

I wrote this blog on my mini-pad on the way home which was a challenge. No I wasn’t driving, but between bumps in the road and the dark, it was a new challenge. But it did make the trip home go faster.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…  Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.  1 Chronicles 10:13,14

As I have been reading through 1 Chronicles, I was struck with this final assessment of the life of King Saul. He was Israel’s first King, but his leadership and kingdom was plagued with wars and challenges.

Saul’s life ended on the battlefield along with three of his sons. For many it would appear as death in the midst of terrible defeat. However,  the Biblical record is that he died because of being unfaithful to the Lord. The verses above detail the spiritual failures of Saul. No mention is made of military victories. No mention of political achievements. No reference to accumulated wealth.

How do you want your life summarized when it comes to an end? What will others say of you? What will be the Lord’s assessment?

What these verses reveal is there may be a different verdict at the end of life than what is seen on the surface or the events may have a meaning beyond what seems obvious from a human perspective.

Perhaps all of this is unique to Saul. It is at least nice to think so. At any rate, I believe there is a challenge for us from the life of Paul the Apostle who, made it his “aim to please the Lord.”  And whose desire was that after preaching to others he would not be disqualified for the prize.

If nothing else, we can see that these areas of downfall for Saul mattered to God and they should matter to us too.