Perfect?

King David. Goliath-killer. Brave warrior. A shepherd boy who became Israel’s finest king. A poet and musician. A worshiper. A man after God’s own heart.

King David. When we hear that name, we can easily paint a beautiful portrait of his character in the Bible. He was, after all, called “a man after God’s own heart.” He has a heart like the heart of God. His heart is close to the heart of God. He was so blessed by God. In last week’s story from 2 Samuel 7, we see God promising him something of eternal significance  – a dynasty, a kingdom, a throne, and blessings forever! I’m not sure if we can fully grasp all the implications of that promise.

So we see how much God had bestowed his favor on David. But does that mean that he’s perfect? That he was sinless? That he was a role model for our kids (and for us, too!) in every way? Can a faithful Bible teacher say with conviction, “Be like David!”?

I don’t think so. If that’s how we think of David or any Christian or your pastor who are blessed by God, accomplished a lot in the ministry, being effectively used by God for his kingdom, then we misunderstand how God works and how God chooses people. We then do not see the grace of God as clearly as the Bible teaches it.

Or maybe, we forget that David (like all other human characters in the Bible) was not perfect. He was far from perfect. He did some very bad things in his life. Remember Bathsheba?