In 12th grade, I played stump-the-camp-counselor.
My counselor at a Christian camp said we could ask her ANY question, and I was feeling extra ornery.
So, I asked her a question that’s probably been on your mind at least once: “Why did David get away with so much?”
In his lifetime, David managed to
- Commit adultery
- Kill the husband of the woman he’d had adultery with
To me, those sins seemed to disqualify him from being a “good Christian,” not to mention “a man after God’s heart.”
I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that a man who had murdered someone could be “a man after God’s heart.”
But, as I’ve matured in my faith, this “mystery” has become clearer to me.
David should encourage us.
If a man who has committed such egregious sins can be called “a man after God’s heart”, we should rest in the fact that God forgives . . . and uses any vessel, so long as he/she is willing to repent and live in alignment with His will.
God used a prostitute.
God used a demoniac.
God used a corrupt politician.
God used a persecutor of His people.
If you don’t think He can use you . . . these people can give you a run for your money. 😉 Sorry beloved, you’re not THAT bad . . . jkjk
Soooooooooo . . . what made David so special??
David should challenge us.
How often are we repenting?
Every sin we commit nailed Jesus to the cross equally. Just because we aren’t actively murdering people or committing adultery doesn’t mean we are the pinnacle of God’s creation, amiright? (And P.S., Jesus says hatred is just as bad as murder, and lust is basically adultery.)
I don’t tend to see my sin for what it truly is. Eh, I forgot devotions one night. I snapped at someone. I exaggerated, resulting in a white-ish lie.
Yes, David messed up. But he LOVED his God. He wrote passages of his love for God, stood up against a pagan giant blaspheming God, refused to kill God’s chosen king, and repented quickly and wholeheartedly.
We are human: we WILL mess up. We’re the ones rating sins as “super bad” or “no biggie.” And if we have been spreading white lies for three years without repentance, that shows our heart’s true love.
