Holding Nothing Back from God

In today’s first reading, 1 Samuel 15: 16-23, Samuel asked Saul, “Does the Lord so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the Lord?”  Saul, the first king of Israel, had  been asked “ to exterminate all of the Amalekites, including their king, and that none of the plunder would be taken for personal use”  (The Word Among Us, Daily Meditations for January 2014, 7115 Guilford Dr Ste 100, Frederick , MD 21704-5234). However, Saul, following his defeat of the Amalekites, takes some of the spoil, the best of the herds and sacrifices them to the Lord. He also spares the King. He is not totally obedient. He follows part of God’s will and part of his own will.    This is not what the Lord wanted. He wanted total obedience from Saul.  Saul’s lacked the humility of surrendering his will completely to the will of a Higher Power, to the One who saves us from our enemies.  In a sense, he was glorifying himself, not God, taking pride in the sacrifices he chose to give God.

It is so easy to be worshipping the service we offer the Lord and not be worshipping God alone.  God wants our humble obedience; he wants our all, not just a portion of our giving.  Jesus, the Word of God, God’s only begotten Son, obeyed the Father in all things, first leaving the glory of heaven and taking on human nature and then offering His life on the cross for the salvation of humankind: humility to follow the will of another and obedience in responding totally. Jesus held nothing back for personal gain.  What about me? What about you?