Billy Graham told the following story, "One of our associate evangelists was preaching at a university. One young woman was especially antagonistic. After the lecture she came to him and said, "I don't believe anything you said." He replied, "I'm sorry that you don't agree, but do you mind if I pray for you?" She answered"...I guess it won't do any harm." He bowed his head and began to pray. She stood looking straight ahead (until she noticed) tears were coming down his cheeks. When he opened his eyes, she herself was in tears. She said, "No one in my entire life has ever shed a tear for me." They sat on a bench and that woman accepted Christ as her Savior." We read in 1 John 3:18, "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

Samuel had every reason from an earthly standpoint to dislike Saul and hope for his failure. In 1 Samuel 8, as Samuel was getting older, he sought to make his two sons the next judges of Israel. But the people rejected Samuel's two sons, as we read in 8:5, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." Though Samuel's sons and therefore in essence Samuel's choice was rejected it was now Samuel's job to present and anoint Saul as the first king of Israel, as we read in chapters 10 and 12. Saul shows his impatience and lack of faith in Chapter 13, by not waiting for Samuel as Samuel clearly told him in 10:8, "You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do." Saul in his impatience instead of waiting, plays the part of a priest and offers the sacrifice himself. Samuel remarks in 13:11, "What have you done?" We read the consequences in 13:14, "But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." Tomorrow we will read of Saul's disobedient actions once again and Samuel announced to Saul that he was rejected by God as king. But notice Samuel's reaction in 1 Samuel 15:35, "And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul,...".

That's the heart that we should desire. Samuel did not gloat over the downfall of the man who took the place of his sons as the next leaders of Israel, but instead mourned over his failure. The young evangelist in the story above did not get angry or combative with the young antagonistic woman but mourned over her condition to the point of tears. We live in a fallen world. Many nonbelievers don't simply quietly disagree with our Christianity, but it has become open hunting season to disagree with us, humiliate us, and persecute us. The more important question is do we really love them? Do we complain about them, antagonize them back to prove ourselves right, etc? The young evangelist cried over the unbelieving woman. We read the heart of Jesus at His opponents in Luke 19:41, "Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." Again, we read in Matthew 23:37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" Jesus knew He was right, but His actions were not based on proving Himself right but out of love. Those of us who are justified or declared righteous based on the finished work of Jesus, are now progressively becoming more sanctified., or becoming more like Jesus, being set apart or separated for His use. Like Jesus, we would do well to care less about proving ourselves and our opinions right and more about loving those that God places in our paths who are currently lost. People can reject your views and your stance, but it is much harder to reject your love.”