Monday 31 May 2010

Committed or cowed?

Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle." And David said, "What have I done now? Is there not a cause?" - 1 Samuel 17v28-29

What is bigger our lives, the giants of opposition or the cause of Christ? David faced a similar situation when he saw the giant Goliath. The army cowered in fear whenever the giant appeared. They ran from the opposition. David’s brother and others mocked him for being there and jeered him for his questions.

‘Now what have I done wrong?’ asked David (a typical response from the youngest brother, by the way). ‘Is there not a cause?’ Something had to be done no matter what the circumstances or how bad it looked. If no one else was going to do it then David had to do it himself.

My problem is that I can often lose sight of the cause because the giants are so big. I look out and all I see at times is giants so I can, like the army, run from the fight and hide in the shadows.

But David had a cause. Yes, there was a giant in the way, but that did not negate the cause. David knew that God was on Israel’s side. As the Veggietale song puts it ‘God is bigger than the giants are. He’s bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV.’

So we have a simple question this morning. What is bigger in our lives, the cause of Christ or the giants in our lives?

Are we committed to the cause or cowed by the giants?

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