Not One Will Be Missing

# 231 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 16:8-11, “So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here." (1 Sam 16:8-11) Jesse had eight boys. It was only natural for him to leave the youngest at home to watch the sheep while he and the rest of the boys went to the sacrifice. Samuel's instructions from God was to anoint one of Jesse's children to be the new king of Israel, but lo and behold none of the first seven are chosen by God. So Samuel asks, “Are all the young men here?” And the implication of Jesse's answer is that the one left behind would probably not be a candidate for kingship. I can't help but think of Jesus' words, “but many who are first will be last, and the last first.” The true meaning of this statement, is that many who appear to be first in line for the kingdom, will actually be excluded because all they cared about was looking good on the outside. Meanwhile the humble, quiet servant of the Lord with a true heart will be the one included. And Samuel says, go get him, we will not sit down at this feast until he is present!” Oh what good news! When the Lord comes again to take His humble servants to heaven, not one will be missing. Not one who perseveres in the faith till the end will be excluded. This is one of the great messages of the Book of Revelation! In the end, the Lamb standing on Mt Zion with the 144,000. This number symbolically represents the complete church, with the Father's name written on their foreheads. None will be missing! “Blessed are those who (like David) are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (Rev 19:9) God has called and is calling you? How will you respond?