Day 139

1 Samuel 24:1–25:44; John 10:22-42; Psalm 116:1-19; Proverbs 15:20-21

IN OUR READING from the Old Testament today, David spared the king. In his manic pursuit, Saul had tracked David to En-gedi, where he was hoping to capture and kill him. The oasis of En-gedi (which literally means “spring of a kid”*) is a freshwater source in a very arid desert, and the hills are pocketed with hundreds of caves.

The tables turned when the king needed a little privacy. Saul entered the very cave David was hiding in, and while Saul squatted, David silently crept toward him. Rather than killing Saul, ridding himself of his mortal enemy, David cut a swatch of cloth from the king’s robe.

When the king left the cave, David revealed himself with proof that he could have killed Saul very easily. This brought Saul to his senses temporarily, and David had a small reprieve.

In John’s Gospel, the people wanted Jesus to tell them plainly whether He was the Messiah. “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me,” Jesus said. “The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. . . . The Father and I are one” (John 10:25, 30).

Jesus’ response had the crowd picking up stones to kill Him. “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works,” Jesus said. “For which one are you going to stone me?” (John 10:32).

It wasn’t Jesus’ good works that enraged the people. It was His claim to be one with the Father. They thought Jesus was blaspheming God by claiming to be the Son of God. Jesus’ response to the allegation is quite interesting. Rather than offering a sign (which would have been the easiest way to prove Himself), He took the issue to its core —as He always did:

It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, “I say, you are gods!” And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called “gods,” why do you call it blasphemy when I say, “I am the Son of God”? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.

The powerful and disruptive awakening for us happens when we consider what being Christlike actually means. This same animating Spirit of God that was within Jesus is also within us (Romans 8:11). Because of Jesus, we are God’s children too.

We are sons of God! We are daughters of God! He has set us apart and sent us into the world to carry out His good work. This we know and proclaim. But we don’t often consider what we are really saying. Take time today to consider the implications of truly being God’s child. What does that mean to your life right here and now?

MEDITATION:

How kind the LORD is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours! The LORD protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me.