I Samuel 2:30
“Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.”
God loves everyone. He is constantly reaching out and attempting to draw all to Him (John 12:32). That being said, today’s passage speaks of how He wants to honor us. He gives honor to those that honor Him.
How do we honor the Lord? Obedience is the way. Jesus said, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’, but don’t do what I say” Luke 6:46. What exactly are we to do. The message of the New Testament is to accept Christ as our lord and savior. Lord means we do what He says and savior means that we’ve been reconciled to God and will be with Him forever. The fear of where I will spend eternity is gone. We’ve been forgiven. We are also to obey the Ten Commandments.
How do we obey Jesus as lord. We are to follow Him. Matthew 16:24 says, ‘Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’ This is a daily adventure, as there is plenty in our day that presents us with opportunities to trust Him. Our plans get rerouted. This can be frustrating. We might find ourselves at the back of the line. See this as an opportunity to deny ourselves and serve those around us.
We honor Him by demonstrating trust. The best way to do this is to be grateful, even when our plans are frustrated. We don’t have to be thankful that things are going poorly, but for a great God who can work them out for the good (Romans 8:28). Joshua marched around the walled city of Jericho giving God thanks for the victory that was forthcoming. We do this with our lives. We don’t have to know how things will get fixed. We just do our best and give thanks that He will bless our efforts.
The second half of today’s passage is that He honors us as we honor Him. Psalm 23 says that He “prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies”. This is a banquet in our honor. How does He do this? As we follow Him and grow in our talents, He allows us to be successful and respected.
Lord, thank You that You honor us. Help us to honor You. Help us to give You thanks.