David- an imperfect person perfectly forgiven
There is some confusion about
whether Lent includes Sunday or not, so here on my blog I have decided to write
a Weekend Post, to cover two days. Each weekend I shall be considering a person
from the Bible, and asking what their story shows us about cultivating
character.
When you begin to ask
questions about what a good person looks like, at some point you reach the
realisation that you fall short. As Christians, we name this falling short
‘sin’, and one of the purposes of Lent is to make even more time than usual to
consider our sin. Some of us don’t even need Lent to do this, as we spend most of
our time feeling bad about ourselves and find it difficult to believe that we
could ever be transformed. Some of us have had damaging words spoken to us, or
things done to us, that have convinced us that we are unworthy and that we are
beyond hope of change.
Eugene Peterson directs us to
the stories and Psalms of David. He writes “ The way of David is the way of
imperfection. The story David lived and the psalms he prayed provide us with
the imagination that is capable of understanding the operations of God to do
his perfect work in us, not our capacities to perfect ourselves.”[1]
The people who walk the pages
of the Bible, from David in the Old Testament to Peter in the New, show us that
growing up to maturity is not a smooth journey of uninterrupted progress, but an
adventure in character development that requires us to learn as much from our
mistakes as from when things go well. One of David’s most well-known Psalms is
Psalm 51, written after Nathan confronted him with his adultery and murder.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast
love;
According to your abundant mercy blot out my
transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
Psalm 51: 1,2
Find some time this weekend
to read 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12, to see what had led David to this place. This is a man who had so much, who seemed to be doing so well, that when he fell it had tragic consequences. Yet it was important for the Biblical writers to include all this in writing the story of David, because the Bible tells us not about the capacity of human beings to be good, but the capacity of God to forgive us.
The stories of David's life, both the triumphs and the tragedies, show us that to be human is to make mistakes. But David's psalms speak to us of the truth,
honesty and vulnerability which bring us to a place where God can show us yet
again that the work of changing lives is His.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And put a new and right spirit within me.
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