David, Jonathan, and Saul

Human relationships are often difficult, but add into the mix of human relationships the dynamic of power and all bets are off as to the eventual outcome. Here the old saying holds dizzily true, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Spend time in I Samuel with the stories of King Saul, Jonathan (the heir apparent in Saul's eyes), and David (the anointed of God to become King), and you will spend time in a study of power: Perceived power and real power. Saul had power he perceived allowed him to do nearly anything he deigned to do since he was King and David was coming into power that called him to do whatever God wanted him to do with God's blessing. Jonathan, Saul's son, is a man caught in-between, for he is born for ascension to the throne and wants it not - and is best friends with the man who is anointed for the throne and is being kept from it. Although there is a great deal of intrigue and shadowing of the language which occurs in the telling of the stories throughout the years, what cannot be written out of the recorded memory of Israel is the essential truth that real power belongs not in the hands of humanity, but in the wisdom of God. Saul, Jonathan, and David live that out, even unto death in each of their lives. None of them are able, in the end, to fully claim power of their own outside of that which God allows them to exercise. To pursue power for power's sake sacrifices the very life with which they seek it and the end result is loss, not gain. "Those who seek their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake and the sake of the gospel will gain it", says Jesus. He understood.

We are reminded by the lives of our ancestors in faith that life in God is life spent in service of God's will. Power in proper proportion will be granted to those whom God chooses that God's people be delivered and led.

Many will claim power, more will die for it, some will even have it at the expense of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of others, but none will ever possess it fully for human life cannot ever hold it eternally. We can only be momentarily touched by Power and do what we are called to do with that Power before our candle dims in the winds of time. To believe otherwise is to sell our soul on the chopping block of sadness and despair in the vain hopes that revisionist history will somehow hide our folly.

King David is hailed as the greatest of Israel's Kings, but only as he prayerfully served Power, not claimed it. Jesus is named as the King of the Jews by Pilate, not because He claimed a position of power, but because He served the Power which raised Him above all others. In the chronicles of life and life's choices, I wonder how others will view my living. As I pray to serve the One who is all Power Eternal, I pray my service is found to be in the name of the One who gives Life Eternal.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don