What God Didn't Say

     I was so impressed when I did my Bible study in 1 Samuel by what God didn't say. The people of Israel were no longer satisfied with being ruled by judges, they wanted a king. They wanted a king for two reasons, the first is peer pressure. All the cool nations had kings. They wanted to fit in. Samuel could have used the line from the parents' manual--If all the other nations decided to jump off a cliff, would you? But the reason that had to hit Samuel hard, was that his sons were ungodly, they took bribes and perverted justice and Israel did not want them to lead their nation. Since the Bible does not say otherwise, I assume this is true. Apparently the object lesson of what happened to Eli's sons made no impression on them.
    So Samuel took his disappointment to God. What the Lord didn't say was, "They are right about your sons." Instead he took the rejection on Himself and told Samuel to listen to the people. No condemnation. No shame. He just told Samuel what to do next.
     There are lots of other examples of such compassion of God toward his people. He did not introduce himself to Abram by saying, "Hello moon worshiper." Instead, he chose Abram to be the father of his people and promise. Then told him what to do next. When God came to Hagar as the Angel of the Lord when she fled to the wilderness, He didn't say, "So, how did despising your mistress work out for you?" Instead, he promised her a son and nation of her own. Then he told her what to do next. When Jacob had to run for his life after stealing his brother's birthright blessing, God didn't say, "What a rotten trick to play on your Dad." Instead, he gave him a dream of a stairway to heaven, introduced Himself, and made beautiful promises.
     And then there is me. When I come to God, I do not hear, "You again? Do you know how many things you have done wrong today?" Even when I ask God to show me my sins to confess them, He doesn't dump the truckload on me, He usually just shows me one. I can handle one--although I can multitask at sinning. And perhaps I can show that same kind of compassion to someone who has hurt or disappointed me. To reach out when I want to strike out. To bless instead of berate. Or at least to pray again as I have so often, "If you can't make me saintly, make me silent." Compassion can speak eloquently in the things we don't say.