Have you ever been honored in a way that you know you didn’t deserve? Have you ever received a gift that was completely out of the blue? Have you ever gotten a good grade on a paper that completely shocked you? Have you ever been congratulated for something that you really didn’t think merited congratulations?
Check out the honor that Samuel presented Saul with out of the blue:
“I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel’s hopes.” 1 Samuel 9:20 (NLT)
Wow! That was a huge dose of honor placed squarely on Saul’s shoulders. It was also a huge responsibility for him to bear. Imagine a young farmer from the country out looking for his dad’s lost livestock hearing the news that he would be the focus of all America’s hopes. How would he respond? How would you respond?
Saul replied, “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?” 1 Samuel 9:21 (NLT)
Saul’s response was humility. He reminded Samuel of the reasons he didn’t deserve such honor and that wasn’t qualified for such a task. I love the first three words of his response: “But I’m only”. Those three words would be good to have on the tip of our tongue every day.
We have been adopted into God’s family and given eternal life with Him through the sacrifice of His Son! Read those words again. We have been adopted into God’s family and given eternal life with Him through the sacrifice of His Son! Let the magnitude of that gift sink into you in a fresh way today. Recognize just how much God has given you overwhelm you today. Realize how much you don’t deserve it and thank Him in a fresh way today. Don’t shrink back from the honor…just appreciate it and accept it with all humility.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)
But I’m only… No, not in God’s eyes!
