August 2024
“The Person God Looks For”
“I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him.”
(Psalms 89:20)
Are you busy? I know you have many things to do in the summer. Since I moved to Wisconsin in 2019, I have learned that Wisconsinites are busy with seasonal leisure activities, such as gardening in the spring, fishing and camping in the summer, hunting in the fall, ice fishing and watching football in the winter, and many more. However, wait a minute! Let’s think about why you are so busy! I hope you haven’t forgotten that you are one of God’s people. You are the one whom God looks for.
When I went to Chicago for the Jurisdiction Conference a few weeks ago, the speaker really challenged me by saying, “We may forget what the first commandment Jesus said was —the love of God—and instead only focus on the second commandment, the love of our neighbors.” It was spiritually awakening for me. Even those who don’t know about God, or believe in God, love their neighbors and are deeply involved in transforming the world for the better. They also donate to places in need, with compassion to help those suffering from poverty, oppression, abuse, injustice, addiction, and more. What is the difference between them and us? The difference is that we believe in God and love Him. Therefore, the first commandment is to love God. Of course, we may express the love of God by loving our neighbors. However, there is no excuse to stay separated from God.
Here is an example: If you say, “I am busy loving my neighbors, such as helping my family (sure, your family is also your neighbor whom you should love), committing to community service, involving yourself in community clubs, and having fellowship with my friends,” it can’t be an excuse that you use to go far from God. Before you love your neighbors, you should love God first. Otherwise, we can’t love our neighbors in truth without God’s help. We all are weak and imperfect in loving others. Only God’s love is perfect, so, we need God’s help to love others.
Recently, one of my prayers has been to stay closer to God. I try not to forget that the first commandment Jesus taught us is “to love God.” It is true that if I am busy focusing on my ministry, I forget why I am busy. My enthusiasm and passion for ministry are because of God’s love. Reading scripture in my meditation, I often feel deep jealousy towards David, who was God’s beloved. I want to be like David, whom God looked for, whom God sought out, and who was a man after God’s own hearts. Yes, I want to be a person after God’s own heart. I studied David to understand why he was “a man after God’s own heart,” and I found several things out about him:
First, David was a person who took great responsibility for his duties. He was an outsider in his family because he was the youngest son of Jesse. When his brothers went to battle, he had to tend to his father’s sheep. When Samuel visited Jesse to look for a candidate for king, David was out working with his father’s sheep, even though his brothers were all in front of Samuel. He never complained about his situation, but worked diligently for his father’s sheep, protecting them even when he was at risk of being harmed by lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-35).
Second, he was someone who believed in Almighty God. Even though he was young, when everyone else, including his brothers, were in fear of the Philistines, he fought them courageously and won. His belief in God was strong, as he said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45).
Lastly, he was someone who loved God’s word and the temple. He confessed in many Psalms: “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long” (Psalms 119:97); “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalms 119:103); “Better is one day in your courts (Temple) than a thousand elsewhere: I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (Psalm 84:10).
Therefore, how about coming closer to God this summer and leaving behind your busy daily schedule? There are many Christians in the world, but there are few good Christians whom God looks for. I suggest that we strive to be good Christians. Let us be the people whom God looks for!
Blessings!