PASSING THE TEST

David wanted to thank God because He cared so much for him. So he searched to find a piece of land where he could erect a tent and then bring the abandoned Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Araunah the Jebusite wanted to give it to David, but David refused because he did not want to give God something that did not cost him anything. This was not an attempt to try and pay God back for all His goodness and kindness. Rather, it was David’s deep gratitude and thankfulness wanting to find a way to tell the LORD how much he loved and adored Him. No wonder David felt so blessed when the Ark of the Covenant finally arrived so they could celebrate having God in their midst.

“Our LORD Eternal owns everything and everyone living on earth. He created it and started it running the way it is. So who may go up to meet Him face to face? Who may walk into His holy presence? Only those with a clear conscience and pure heart; only those who are not dishonest and will tell the truth no matter what. Those are the ones the LORD Eternal blesses; yes, our One True God will personally hand them their reward. This describes the kind of people who really seek Him; those who want to be in His presence. So open the gates and make wide the sacred doors so our glorious King can come in. What glorious King am I talking about?—it’s the LORD Eternal who gallantly fights His battles; our undefeated Champion. So open the gates and make wide the sacred doors so our glorious King can come in. What glorious King am I referring to?—the LORD Eternal of heaven’s hosts; that’s the glorious King I’m talking about! ” Psalm 24:1-10

Reflection: Imagine a young man who bribes his friends to provide answers for tests in order to graduate from high school. Then upon joining the military, he lies on his application about his age and keeps the fact that he’s color-blind a secret. Once he gets into combat, his commander sends him out to man an important road block with these instructions: “If you see a red flare in the air, immediately fire a rocket propelled grenade at the first vehicle you see because it’s a suicide bomber. But if you see a green flare, then let the vehicle through because they are friendly troops. He leaves without revealing the truth about his colorblindness. When he sees a flare go off, and not being able to tell whether it was red or green, in panic he fires and murders ten of his own buddies. Later he claims that someone overpowered him, took his weapon and fired the grenade. But pictures from a flying drone reveal the lie. We may fool people now with hypocrisy and pretension, but when the glorious King comes through the gates we will be judged for our foolishness. Better to fall on our knees now then wait until He appears. By then it will be too late.