Friday: Further Thought – Conflict and Crisis
No question, the Word of God, as we have studied this week, time and again shows God’s faithfulness to His people. Of course, in many cases, at the time things were happening, that faithfulness wasn’t always obvious or apparent. In the accounts we looked at, we were able to see the beginning to the end; some of the characters involved, such as Uriah the Hittite, didn’t.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
Today we are ourselves immersed in the great controversy just as surely as were the people we have studied. And not only them, but there were many others just as real as the ones who made it into the text but who didn’t always live to see things work out so well. That’s why it’s so important for us, as Christians, to remember, especially when times are rough (as they so often can be) , Paul’s wonderful words: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18, NKJV) . Here Paul is seeking to point us to something beyond the daily toils, foibles, and weaknesses of humanity and toward the only hope that makes life here anything more than a cruel farce.
Discussion Questions:
- What are some of the other Bible promises that point to our ultimate hope? Gather as many as you can, and either alone or in class read them aloud and dwell on what they say. What kind of picture do they present to us?
- What made David’s fall so tragic was that he had been so singularly blessed of God. And yet, despite all that he had been given-he still sinned the way he did. Yet, instead of focusing just on the negative, think about the one positive aspect of his whole sordid story: God’s grace, even to someone who had fallen from so high to so low. What does that tell us about just how full and complete the redemption that we have in Jesus really is? How can we have assurance that no matter what we have done, or how far our fall, if we, like David, repent, forgiveness is ours?
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There are a number of good reasons why we are told this part of David's story.
First that no matter how faithful we are to God we can fall. Or rather will fall because Satan works harder to trip those who are the most faithful so both the person and the rest of us will become disheartened..even give up hope. And that is another reason why his foibles are not kept secret..so we may have hope for the future. That God does not throw a person aside no matter how grievous the sin. "He is just and righteous and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
In the end when David repented with bitter tears he was called a man after God's own heart!
It's all about the love ❤ of God of which no one can plumb the depths. God IS love‼ AMEN!
God hates sin but loves the sinner. The church is not a museum of saints but sinners who have been forgiven.
sjamaboyz@aol.com Valrie Spencer
I am just thanking God for his words which is so powerful it is like a glass which make me see how sinful I am and it is like water which help me to bath the sin away and leave me growing daily to reach my destination where I will be with my Lord some sweet day. halleluyah, praise God
While King David's fall is less remarkable than the fall of Lucifer, 1/3 of the angels or Adam, we feel more connected since we too are born and raised in a fallen, sinful environment, being tutored well by seasoned sinners. Yet Jesus shows we can live a life of complete victory "in this present world". Only the forgiveness granted to the genuinely repentant soul can lead us to one day being presented "faultless" before the "presence of His glory with exceeding joy!" (I think Jude would insert the exclamation point if writing this today)
List other promises? So many, but a particular favorite is Psalm 37 that gives a rather descriptive account of what the meek have to look forward to when God restores the "abundance of peace" that His creation without one trace of sin will enjoy for eternity.
The Word of God is the only one which we should trust and obey when we a still alive.