1 Samuel 17.25 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you
seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the
king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his
daughter and make his father's house free in Israel.” (ESV)
A pastor friend of mine said this recently: If you don't
know who you are, you become like everybody else. I thought hmmm, and then this
morning I read about David in 1 Samuel 17 where he takes on the Philistine
champion, a big dude named Goliath.
David was the kind of man who understood who he was and
he understood who God was. A man without God is just a man at the mercy of
physics and nature. But a man with God, who knows God is a man equipped with
all the resources of Heaven. (Just a point in case you were wondering: all the
Resources of Heaven are God.) David knew who he was and who God was. And the
Philistine champion had one fatal flaw: he
was a man without God.
David was intrigued by the prize offered to the one who
defeated Goliath: “…the king will enrich
the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make
his father's house free in Israel.” David thought to himself: I can do that! David’s resume’ included
killing both a lion and a bear for stealing his dad’s sheep. David seemed to be
the kind of man who looked at the prize and decided it was worth winning.
What is worth fighting for in your life? What is worth
winning? Goliath’s are a dime-a-dozen. They’re big, they’re intimidating, but
they aren't God. And the person who knows God knows they can be defeated. God
defeats them.
The prize in my life is consistently following God
whole-heartedly – in doing that there is great reward – eternal reward. It isn't riches, it isn't a trophy-wife and becoming an in-law of the king; it’s sonship
with God and an inheritance in Heaven. (Just a point in case you were
wondering: the inheritance in Heaven is God.)
David said no
to convention and took on somebody who scared the crap out of everybody else.
And I think David did it because he knew who he was – and he wasn't like
everybody else. The true measure of a man is his relationship with God – all else
is just periphery. One might be talented, creative, clever, strong, handsome,
polished – any one or number of the things this world values. But a man can
have all that and still miss the Prize: sonship to the Lord of Glory and inheritance
in Heaven.
Today, I look at my life and tell myself, son, remember who you are and for what it is
you’re fighting: the Prize worth winning. I don’t think I was ever intended
to be a headliner; I’m to walk after God and live according to His grace,
bringing honor and glory to His name by staying close to Him. Not performance –
if it was that, I've already failed – but sonship, I am called a son of God and
that’s who I am. And winning the prize? With His help, I can do that…
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