The New Kid in School

Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13-14

Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person. Ecclesiastes 12:13

“HEY,” YOUR BEST friend calls to you. “I want you to meet somebody.” When you walk over, he says, “This is Jay Hovah. He’s new in school.” He nods to the person standing beside him.

You smile and nod at the new kid. “How ya doing?” you say. The new kid nods back.

Your friend slaps the new kid on the back. “You should see what this guy can do. He can do five hundred sit-ups—without stopping!”

“Five hundred sit-ups?” you respond. Jay shrugs as if it’s no big deal.

“And,” your friend continues, “he can bench-press three hundred pounds!”

“Get outta here!” you answer. Jay just smiles and shrugs again. You start to pay less attention to your friend and more attention to this Jay guy.

“He can jump over seven feet in the air from a standing position.”

“Oh, come on,” you say, “I don’t believe tha—” Suddenly the new kid leaps straight up in the air and over your head, landing behind you. You turn around and look at him with undisguised respect.

Your friend leans over and whispers in your ear. “Did I mention he can also control the forces of nature and make dead people come to life?”

Well, of course, that would have been a dead giveaway, right? Only one person could do all those things. The new student at school would have to be God!

That probably won’t happen, though. But imagine if you did meet a “new kid” who could do all those things. How would you respond? You’d probably really respect and admire that kid, wouldn’t you? After all, anyone who can do five hundred sit-ups and bench-press three hundred pounds is pretty impressive, right?

Well, if that’s true, God is much more worthy of your respect. He not only can do all those things but also can control the forces of nature and make dead people come back to life. He can create something out of nothing. He can heal diseases. He can answer prayer. He can destroy nations and create entire solar systems.

But more important, he created you. And, if you’re a Christian, he saved you from the punishment your sins deserved. And he is preparing you to live forever in eternity. For those and many, many other reasons, God deserves your respect.

That’s why it’s right to respect God. In fact, respect for God is the basis of all respect—and of all righteousness. As King Solomon once said, “Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

REFLECT: Do you think God deserves your respect? Why or why not? Do you respect God? If a private investigator was looking for evidence that you respect God, what evidence would he or she find? How can you show respect for God today?

PRAY: “God, you are holy and perfect, and you deserve my respect and worship. Please help me to show how much I respect you in everything I do today.”