Rejection and the A-list God

Today: 1 Samuel 4-8

Rejection is not fun. If you've ever "put yourself out there" to attend your dream college or land a dream job, girl/guy, role or home--only to be rejected--you know what I'm talking about.

I've had a few interesting conversations with friends over the years that touched on this topic. One time, I was with a small group of Christian guys and girls where some of the girls were lamenting, "What is it with Christian guys?!? They're surrounded by these incredible Christian women, but they just don't ask them out..."

"Guys hate rejection," one of the married guys spoke up.

His statement was simple, but in some ways took me by surprise...not because I hadn't heard or thought it before, but because the guy speaking was an A-list guy. You know who I'm talking about--a guy who is simultaneously committed to God, good looking, friendly, well-mannered, etc. This guy is probably one of those people who was always surrounded by packs of girls at school and church his entire life. When he said it, my first thought was, "You were once afraid of being hurt or rejected?!? Who in her right mind would turn you down?"

It sounded crazy. But today's passage describes a rejection even more tragic--God's people rejecting His leadership in their lives. Take a look:

They presented their case:

"Look, you're an old man,

and your sons aren't following in your footsteps.

Here's what we want you to do:

Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else."
When Samuel heard their demand—"Give us a king to rule us!"—

he was crushed.

How awful!

Samuel prayed to God.
God answered Samuel, "Go ahead and do what they're asking.

They are not rejecting you.

They've rejected me as their King.

From the day I brought them out of Egypt

until this very day they've been behaving like this,

leaving me for other gods.

And now they're doing it to you.

So let them have their own way..."

Who could be any more A-list than our God?

In fact, A-list doesn't even come close to describing Him--He's perfection itself. I don't think God fears our rejection, but I know that it hurts Him. God gave His everything to love us, to be with us for eternity. Yet sometimes we reject His leadership in pursuit of Z-list things--money, our selfish desires, bad habits, etc.

The rationale of the people in this passage was also really lame. They said, "Appoint a king to rule us just like everybody else." It's goofy logic, because ultimately, who really wants to be just like everybody else? Most of us want to live a life of significance. People who live significant lives don't follow the crowds. I believe that the best way to live a significant life is to embrace and surrender to God's leadership in your life.

Tomorrow: 1 Samuel 9-12

Samson and the other woman...not Delilah

Today: Judges 13-15

If you've ever heard about Samson from the Bible, you've probably heard his name linked to a woman named Delilah. They have a pretty famous juicy romance story (we'll read about it later). But before Delilah, Samson was actually married to another woman.

I've read Samson's story before, but I had forgotten this part. As I read today's passage, it was interesting to think about Samson's life and some of the lessons he perhaps could have learned that perhaps could have spared him some heartaches and headaches.

In some ways, it's kind of refreshing to read about a guy who had God's favor and blessing on his life...but who was also a real man with real struggles. From what I can tell, Samson was a sucker for pretty girls with manipulative charm/claws. Samson's God-fearing parents actually questioned his choice for a bride. They said:

"Isn't there a woman among the girls

in the neighborhood of our people?

Do you have to go get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?"

I like their wording--there's a difference (beyond age) between a woman and the girls (or a man and the guys). Their main concern, though, was the fact that the Philistines were not God-honoring people. They worshipped idols.

Samson's response to his parents?

"Get her for me. She's the one I want— she's the right one."

His rationale is interesting given the context of this passage and the context of his culture. At the beginning of the passage, you'll see that Samson's parents actually were visited by the angel of the LORD (who some theologians actually believe was God Himself) who instructed them to raise Samson in a special, set apart way to dedicate his life to God. They obeyed. They were good parents in a culture where children were instructed to obey their parents (hello, ten commandments!). That's why I think Samson's response is odd. He completely dismisses his parents' advice and doesn't even cite God's direction for his decision.

Samson's unnamed Philistine wife turns out to be more loyal to her people than to him. She deceives him into losing a big bet and then turns around and marries his best man (while Samson believes she's still married to him). It sounds totally crazy. You'd think that if that happened to someone, they'd work really hard to avoid a repeat occurrence. And who knows? Maybe Samson did try to avoid a repeat...but famously, he ended up being deceived by another godless and manipulative woman.

As I read this, I thought about a few different take-aways for us. The first one is similar to something I wrote earlier this week--despite Samson's mistakes, God forgave him and stuck with him. Secondly, I wonder if Samson's life could have been different if he had learned from his early experience with the unnamed Philistine girl. Would he have been seduced by Delilah later? Would he have jeopardized his commitment to God?

I don't know the answers to those last two questions. Nobody's perfect. But living by faith sometimes means getting up when you fall and trusting God to guide you in a different direction.

Tomorrow: Judges 16-18

He liked what he saw

Today: Genesis 4-7

They met in a school hallway.
And he liked what he saw.

They were friends at work.
And he liked what he saw.

They were on the same team.
And he liked what he saw.

How many times have you heard stories like this--typically about a romance or a "love at first sight" moment?

I don't know if love at first sight is possible, but I think it's possible that sight itself can be different from what we think. If you took the scenarios above at a basic level, they were about a guy who physically saw a girl he found attractive.

But what if the guy in the school hallway saw the girl laughing with her friends and thought her happy, joy-filled spirit was stunning? What if the guy at work saw the girl wow her clients by excelling at a project? And what if the guy on the team saw the girl who always encouraged the people around her?

There are people who see you and me and there are people who see you and me.

God definitely tends to choose the latter form of sight. I love what it said about his view of Noah in today's passage:

God liked what he saw in Noah.

This is the story of Noah:

Noah was a good man,

a man of integrity in his community.

Noah walked with God.

These are simple words, actually...but I would be really proud if God said those kinds of things about me. Does God like what He sees in us?