Daily Devotion July 12

July 12: Judges 9:7-15

KJV Key Verse: Judges 9:15
15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

Devotion:
Yes there are parables in the Old testament and this is one of them. How we choose things and people in our lives not only makes a difference for and to us but also for and to our choice. If we went into a shop and looked for the cheapest thing on the shelf we may well treat it with no respect after buying it because it is almost worthless in our minds. If we were to think long and hard about what we buy we may well respect the item more than usual because we spent time in our choice.

But how do we go about choosing people? Do we look at them from the outside and go for the prettiest or most handsome specimen, or do we go for someone who is going to be the least maintenance? It may seem horrible to talk about people like this but there are many who do exactly that! This parable takes the choice of trees and uses it instead of people. The olive tree was respected because of the high quality oil produced. The fig tree because of the fruit. The vine because of the wine. But what about the bramble?

If you are very honest with your choices of people you mix with in your life you may be very surprised with the types of people you actually get to meet and mix with. When we get to know people, not just by what they offer but by who they are on the inside, we get to appreciate them in an entirely new way and get to know things about them we would probably not think of otherwise.

When we want to get to know someone, maybe with the thought of marriage, we need to get to know them properly; this means being totally honest and looking for what they are like on the inside and not just what we can get out of them. Relationships are very complex and need a lot more than just looks to survive and thrive; they need to be honest, truthful, open, forgiving and willing. That is a lot to ask for, so give as much as you expect!

Points to Ponder:
What do you look for in a person?

What do you offer God?