Human

Ever heard something on the news that talks badly about some Christian leader? How a big time "man of God" made this huge mistake and now no one wants to believe what he says? It seems as though this happens all too often lately.

I've really been wrestling with this issue the past couple of days. How is it that someone who is supposed to point people toward God can turn people away from Him just like that? How come the people in the spotlight of the Church mess up so badly to where people's whole belief systems are thrown into a frenzy?

Well it turns out, this isn't a new issue.

Let's look at 1 Samuel chapter 16. Little background here...the Israelites (God's chosen people) were looking for a king, they got one, and he wasn't doing too hot a job. So God sent Samuel to anoint a new king, David. Here's the scripture.

1 Samuel 16:12-13
12 So he sent for him [David] and had him brought in.
He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers,
and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David.

The Spirit of the Lord came POWERFULLY upon David. David was HAND SELECTED by God to be the next King of Israel.

Fast forward a little while.

David is King. Living the dream. Has a tight relationship with God. But then David made a BIG blunder.

Here's the scripture.

2 Samuel 11:2-5
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.
From the roof he saw a woman bathing.
The woman was very beautiful,
3 and David sent someone to find out about her.
The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

So David, King of Israel, GOD'S HAND-PICKED KING, saw a woman, took her from her husband, slept with her, and got her pregnant!

If that's not messed up I don't know what is.

But it doesn't stop there, David decided the best way to fix this was to send Bathsheba's husband to the front of the battle lines, have everyone else step back, and let Uriah be killed! Then David married Bathsheba and they had a kid together.

But then, David's friend Nathan confronted him.

And a light went off.

2 Samuel 12:13-14
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.
14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the LORD, the son born to you will die.”

David made a big mistake. HUGE. And he had to suffer the consequences of his actions.

David was human. We are human, we make mistakes just like David did. David was hand selected by God to be a king, and HE still messed up! But notice the part where it says "The LORD has taken away your sin." God FORGAVE David!

2 Samuel 12:20
20 Then David got up from the ground.
After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes,
he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped.
Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

And after God forgave him, David went and WORSHIPED. Because he realized God was bigger than all of this, bigger than the stupid mistakes of mere humans, big enough to forgive him after the terrible thing he had done.

We as Christians, we're not perfect. But thank goodness we have a God who IS perfect! So the next time you see a Christian mess up, just look in the mirror. I'm sure you've made mistakes too. I know I have. And God is BIG ENOUGH to forgive them all. I know I'm so thankful!

Til next time,

ST