Monday, June 8, 2009

Wanna be king?


Staff is up at camp and the excitement and stress levels are growing. It never seems like we can be ready for campers but it always works out! God has a way of making sure we get it all together before the first excited camper shows up at the camp.

I was reading in 1 Kings 1:1-53, the story of the end of King David's life. He was ill and the time for a successor had come. Now David had many sons from many different wives but one son, named Adonijah, decided he was going to be king. He gathered up a large number of animals for sacrifice and sent invitations to many important people to attend his self inauguration party. (He left out invites to the chief priest, the prophet Nathan, and other high leaders.) As he began to gather for the party, his brother Solomon and Solomon's mother Bathsheba heard what was going on. They went to David to see if Adonijah was really the anointed one and found out that David planned for Solomon to be king. David decided to bless his son and make Solomon on the spot and God's chosen man for the job was installed.

Solomon was now king and and the party to crown Adonijah, in full session, was now illegal. All of the guests fled and hoped they would not be killed for their allegiance with Adonijah. In the end Solomon showed mercy and a new king was anointed.

The reason I tell this story is that many of us are in process of crowning ourselves king -- well not king but certainly we often feel like we are doing God's work in the world. The problem is that we cannot, by our actions, desires, or hopes, do God's work without God's blessing. How often do we set out to serve only to realize we never sought the power and blessing of the real King.

This week, recommission your lives to the service of the King, Christ our lord. Seek HIS power, and His vision and THEN move out to impact the world. I am giving over my role at camp to a greater power -I think I know what needs doing but God knows better. Get out of the drivers seat of your life and commit yourself to seeking God's will. After that wait, wait a bit more -- stop worrying and let your marching orders come from God. (Read the book of Acts to see how the disciples got their ministries rolling. -- no really Read it!) If the disciples could start with less than nothing and change the world what could we be commissioned to do?


Portage Dave