We can be so quick to judge that we don’t always regard King David as much of a role model. After all he committed adultery and he killed someone. Serious stuff no? What we sometimes forget (or have yet to ponder over) is that God isn’t affected by the earthly consequences of our sin. Anything from murder to gluttony (Oh yes those KFC’s have come back to haunt me) are acts of disobedience, nothing more, nothing less. And whatever view we take to people around us including ourselves and all we’ve ever done, when it all boils down we’ve all disobeyed; but David, amongst others I respect, did something else; and they did it to a degree that I am only starting to comprehend. They practiced the art of repentance.
So, seeing as I’m never going to be like Jesus (let’s be honest) I’m starting to look for other role models AS WELL AS Jesus to learn from. Because there is actually, at least one thing I can think of, that we can’t learn from Jesus… That is this art of repentance. Jesus never did it, never had to. This is where King David comes in. What’s so amazing is that he was a “Man after God’s own heart” despite his wrongs. How can this be?
Well firstly look at the whole picture. Before 'the event' he served God faithfully, whole heatedly. Great, but what’s more important is what happens after all this. He repents, he really repents, down on his knees, weeping, for days, writing half the Psalms, and he trusted that God and paid the bill. I can’t even imagine what pressures and burdens were crushing his heart and soul.
From his gut he actually felt sorry. Not like those sorries you hear from 6 year olds when their mummies make them apologise for farting at the dinner table. This was a heart felt, body and life responsive act of continuous repentance. Because the repentance isn’t just in the sorry, but after that you must realise that things have got to change. Otherwise you’re not sorry. Got that? If things don’t change you’re not really sorry? That doesn’t mean we have to be perfect to be sorry because we’d all fail. But we need to try. Now I try but David tried more, a great deal more. Compared to him I can find no one equal in the discipline of repentance.
Since writing this I can honestly say I've grown in following King David's example of repentance with life changing affects. I still mess up, but a lot less frequently. Believe me, when your knees and forehead are pressed against the ground your guilt and shame can fade away as you rediscover the seriousness of our sin (however small) in the context of the seriousness of God's love and forgiveness.
Knowing the contrast of what Jesus did and what I may have just done I’m not now able to dare ask for forgiveness whilst, say, sitting in front of the TV with my arms crossed and my mind half wandering. Not because God’s grace demands my discomfort but if I am ever to change, to repent, I must take this first step of asking for forgiveness seriously. Then hopefully the momentum of these first steps will aid in delivering me farther enough to break bad habits.
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