David
God can redeem whatever He wishes to redeem…
When I was a little girl, I was fascinated with the story of David and Bethsheba. I first read it in a Children’s Bible and I remember vividly the pictures that went along with the story. I remember thinking how shocking the story really was. There was a King who used his power in a corrupt way so that he would be able to have access to another man’s wife. I remember thinking about how terrible it would have been to be Bethsheba’s husband – killed in battle. I remember thinking that King David must have surely felt terrible guilt for sending a man to his death. I remember thinking that Bethsheba must have felt very conflicted to be with King David and know that he had caused her first husband to die.
As I grew older, I came to understand some of the complexities in the story. Perhaps it was supposed to be a love story? Perhaps there was a love that could not be denied in the story of King David and Bethsheba? But that love did not reconcile with the love that I understood of the Bible. After all, in Sacred Scripture we are told that we should love as Our Father in Heaven loves. And God Himself does not love with emotions. He loves with reason. His love is unchanging. God loves because we are HIS. He does not love us because we are sweet or cute or kind. He loves us because He made us and we are HIS… So, David’s lust and love for Bethsheba is not something that I could reconcile with the stories of love int eh Bible…
And yet… That initial sin – King David’s lust and the murder that shattered lives – was a rejection of God’s boundaries for King David… There is much to be learned in this… You see, our emotions are not the end of the story. It is not enough to say that I feel love for someone and therefore I can ignore all the consequences of my making choices that satisfy my own feelings. Just because it feels right to me does not mean that I have the right to proceed no matter what! King David failed because he followed his will rather than God’s Will… But there is hope in this story… God’s GOODNESS is greater than any human failure.
From this relationship came Solomon. And from this line, Christ Himself would be born… In other words, God can redeem whatever He wishes to redeem…
And there is such power in that. There is power in knowing that God allowed His Son to be reincarnated from the line of a man who committed such sins. There is such power in knowing that Christ was begotten of a line of humans who made all sorts of mistakes. And into this He consented to come to us – to come to me – for love of me. Not emotional love, but something much greater than that, with the love of God, who loves me because I am HIS!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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