Daily Devotion: Honoring God

Scripture:
1 Samuel 2: 27-36

Main Verse:
1 Samuel 2: 30
Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.' But now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.

Observation:
Eli was a Jewish priest who delighted in serving the Lord and living a pure life. He was an honorable man, but his sons weren't. God had anointed Eli as High Priest, but at one point in his life failed to give glory to the Lord. Not only did he not rebuke his sons' deeds against the Lord and failed to exercise parental authority over them. He even appointed them as priests despite knowing that they led dishonorable lives. Because of this, Eli and his family suffered the consequences. It led to a life of sorrow until his death. The Lord declared his judgment against Eli's family for failing to honor the Lord: his family will die by violence, his sons will die on the same day, and they will live a life of poverty.

Application:
The movie "Hacksaw Ridge" is a movie of faith and courage. In this movie, Desmond Doss, a private who became an army medic, exemplified a life that honors God.  He refused to carry a rifle because of his beliefs about the Sixth Commandment, which caused trouble among his fellow soldiers. But what struck me the most in this movie is how Desmond chose to honor God while serving his country at a time of war. Yes, he had a duty to his country, but above all else, he showed that he had a duty to God. He wanted to serve his country, but he did not want to kill. He wanted to save people. During the war, while soldiers carried a gun, Desmond carried his Bible and his faith in God. It was his faith in God that motivated him to serve his country. It was his faith that drove him to single-handedly save 75 fellow soldiers who were wounded at war. It was his faith and courage that gained him his fellow soldiers' respect. It was his faith and courage that earned him the Medal of Honor.

Our faith as believers is always under attack. People may never understand why we hold on to our faith in God, but what really matters to God is how we honor Him in our life. God promises that when we hold on to our belief and conviction in Him, he will also honor us. And when people around us see how we honor God, God's name will be glorified and they will come to know the God that we serve. Let us always keep in our hearts that God's first and most important commandment is to love him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength (Matthew 22:37).

Prayer:
Lord, you alone deserve all honor, glory, and respect. I pray that I can always show to others what honoring You means, so that others may get to know the God that I serve. AMEN.