As I was sitting in church today I decided I was going to check a book out from our church library. I found Francine Rivers and decided on one of her "five unlikely women who changed eternity" books about Bathsheba. ( I also ended up coming home with 8 other books that they were just giving away! Needless to say, I looked like a total nerd walking out of church carrying a huge stack of books...but whatever).
I picked Bathsheba because I don't know much about her other than that King David saw her naked and wanted her, so he killed her husband. I know that Rivers' books are fictional, but she has a God-given gift and I believe it will give me some insight on the situation back then and maybe change some presuppositions I may have.
As I lay on the floor next to our fireplace reading the book, called Unspoken, I started thinking about David. David was anointed king when he was a young shepherd by Samuel. He was a humble man who loved to sing, dance and write songs for the Lord. He was called "a man after God's own heart" right? So basically the majority of what we know about David was positive.
Except for Bathsheba.
Bathsheba is the splash of black on Davids clean slate. I know that this was not his only sin, but it is the one that everyone associates with him. Truthfully, when I think of David I do usually think about his lustful adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband. It struck me strange that out of all the many great things that David did and his amazing heart that showed through the Psalms, that this sin protruded so ugly.
Of course David sinned. He was human. Of course he was not above the grace and mercy we receive. So is it our human nature that causes us to instinctively scratch the tally marks of people's sin deeper and darker into our memory?
I think of my own life and how many times I miss the beauty, gifts and talents of an amazing God-image bearing person because I am too busy looking at the black marks I have hashed against them. So many times I hear something about someone and in my head associate them with that sin. How awful is that?! Jesus chose to look at people and see beautiful creations before he saw the flaws of sinful nature. No judgmental gaze did he hold on the adulterous women who was to be stoned. Jesus told the people that he who had not sinned could throw the first stone.
This isn't anything profound or something I didn't know before. I guess starting to read this book and looking at David's life got me thinking. How deep and dark are the tally marks in my line of vision and are they blinding me from the singing and dancing of beautiful creations?
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