1 Kings 10-12

King Solomon is sitting pretty in Jerusalem.  The man, chosen by God to lead His people, is living the high life in 1 Kings 10-12.  Those who get to know him are impressed.  He seems to have it all, fame and fortune- smarts, wealth, fancy chariots, beautiful homes, and over 900 women.  Yep.  That’s right.  King Solomon had a thing for foreign women despite God’s best wishes for him.  And so we can feel it in our reading today, his leisurely habits are costly for all of Israel.      

You know, it’s easy to sit here and quickly say that I, thank goodness, do not have Solomon’s problem.  I, after all, am a happily married woman to my one and only man, AND I am a faithful follower to my one and only Lord and Savior.

And then I read the Holy fine print a little more carefully.    

As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been…

So, Solomon did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done. 

1 Kings 11:4, 11:6 

The fine print is important.  It’s there that my heart and mind open up to the fact that Solomon’s problem is actually the very thing that I need to pay attention to in my own life.

That’s because the problem isn’t the women.  It’s completeness.

Solomon’s story illustrates the riskiest part of being a Christian.  

As a believer, HOW do I follow God?  How little or how much?  Where do I find completeness?

Do I risk it all?  Do I give Him all I’ve got?

Thank goodness for Jesus who gave His all on the cross for you and for me, so that we may live and be complete in Him.

Because of Jesus, I don’t have to know exactly HOW I am going to follow God.  I just have to surrender to and rely on the transforming power and grace of the Holy Spirit that dwells in me to teach me His way, each step of the way.

A prayer for today-

Dear God,

Thank You for Your Son, Jesus, who followed You completely on the cross so that I am blessed with eternal life. 

On my own, I am incomplete and only half full, at best.  Help me to always recognize my need for Jesus, and the completeness I have in Him.  

Transform me by the power of Your Holy Spirit that dwells in me.

Love of Christ,

*This post is part of A Mind-Maker-Upper's Everyday Reading Project.  Click here to read more.