Gracing towards excellence/glory?

2 Samuel 4

Ish-bosheth Murdered

1When Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. 2Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon a man of Benjamin from Beeroth ( for Beeroth also is counted part of Benjamin; 3 the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there to this day).
4 Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

5Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ish-bosheth as he was taking his noonday rest. 6And they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.[a] 7When they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. They took his head and went by the way of the Arabah all night, 8and brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron. And they said to the king, "Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The LORD has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring." 9But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, 10 when one told me, 'Behold, Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. 11How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?" 12And David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them beside the pool at Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.

2 Samuel 5

David Anointed King of Israel

1Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, "Behold, we are your bone and flesh. 2In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the LORD said to you, 'You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.'" 3So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.[b]

* you see... when God promises something to you... it will be done unto you in the most strangest of ways...
David did not struggle to become king... he allowed the circumstances to bring the necessary goals to fulfillment. he didnt panicked when he did not manage to occupy the northern land. in a way, david 'graced' towards glory. he was at perfect rest at all times since saul's death... and he simply followed and obey God in doing what he should do as a king over the 'other- southern' land. what surprises me the most is that David was righteous: look at his comments :2sam4:10 when one told me, 'Behold, Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. 11How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?" ... he was so 'righteous' that he didnt know that by doing what he did , he will eventually succeed the throne... it was an honorable succession.

many times in ministry, we strive towards excellence... we wanted the most talented people , the most skillful people, the best leader possible- we even considered the secular vocation of the leader that we are suppose to elect. ( a side question: is this a valid assumption that secular success denotes spiritual success? this issue requires much rethinking) This somehow creates a performance trap. you see- we successfully imported worldly values into church ministry! leadership capabilities in secular settings do not mixed with church policies. Secular leadership boils down to pride (hey! i ran that committee! the success of that project was due to ME!) ; whereas spiritual leadership boils down to servant-hood ( i am glad to have been given this opportunity to serve my Master and the people that my Master has asked me to serve) . Many churches go stuck in their growth because of leader's pride. who could have imagined that pride prevented the growth of churches? Satan wins. Secular leadership promises treasures on earth (matt2:6); spiritual leadership promises treasures in heaven. church leadership should be an upside-down triangle: the higher you 'climb' your career ladder, the more you should find yourself in the bottom ranks serving those above you! the masses!... so rather than striving for excellence , why not grace towards excellence : letting God do His work at his own time? this person may not be able to do certain things now, but with care and encouragement , we help this person to grace towards the success that he should experience... that is growth with love; not engineered growth that degrees and certs achieved... we are christians, our way of doing things should be SET APART as well! set apart from the worldly way of doing things, of growing... ;-)

2008: the year of humility....


Who would have thought that the weak can lead the church? who would have thought that the King and salvation that israel was expecting came in the form of suffering? to suffer unto glory?