“What A Family”

I think I’ve mentioned how I enjoy the books of Samuel and the stories of King David. I first remember reading them back in the late 1970’s. In fact I was so touched by the friendship of David and Jonathan that we named our first son “Jonathan David”.  

Today’s reading from the first book of Samuel (1Sam.24:3-21) describes another of the magnificent traits of David. Because of envy and jealousy, King Saul is trying to kill David, but inadvertently falls into David’s hands….. yet David spares his life. Saul is so touched by David’s kindness that he begins to weep and repents of his actions. It’s a beautiful moment. There are so many sub-plots in this story…. the great friendship between David and Jonathan (Saul’s son), the incredible bravery and love of David, and the tragic life of Saul. Let’s not forget the story of  David killing the giant Goliath, the life of the prophet Samuel, the nation of Israel’s rejection of God as they ask for their own king to be like other nations. Once you begin reading these books, it’s very hard to put them down. 

David, a man after God’s own heart, seems to be almost perfect as he serves God wholeheartedly during these years. Yet seemingly out of the blue, he does an “about face” and commits terrible sins of lying, adultery, and even murder. He goes from “great saint to great sinner” in ~48 hours. Wow, what a story. Yet the Lord forgives a repentant David and restores him…. though “the sword never departs from his house”. (2 Samuel 12:10)

So what’s the point of this BLOG? Well, there’s about 50 points…. great points… too many to write down. I’m not sure where to start. One point is that God has a very interesting family on this earth…talk about dysfunctional; I’m surprised he hasn’t disowned us. At the same time this family is capable of wonderful acts of love and kindness. 

Another point is that God, as a loving father, forgives his children when they repent after making a mess of things; he’s not happy with their actions and he corrects them, but he forgives. After the big mess David made, the scriptures  still referrs to him as a man after God’s own heart. That should give hope to you and to me. If we repent and turn from our evil ways, God will forgive our sins and even place them as far as the east is from the west.(Ps. 103:12) We may be part of a “nutty family”, but it’s God’s family and our father in heaven will take care of us.

So the final point is to remember that if we’re doing really well, don’t get self satisfied and cocky; like David we can fall off the cliff in about two seconds. Yet if we do something stupid, like sin, don’t despair, but fall to our knees and repent and allow the Lord Jesus to set us back on the right path. God’s mercy is new every morning.(Lam. 3:22-23) 

If we just remember the greatness of the Lord, we will be okay…and all will be well with our soul. And that is very good news.