God has a habit of using the least likely people to
accomplish his purposes. He has been
doing so from the beginning. He used Adam
to kick off the human race, even though Adam wasn't the brightest bulb in the
box. I am always stopped by that line in
Genesis, Adam’s line when he was caught in his sin. “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she
gave me fruit of the tree and I ate.”
Really, it is a profound line. It shows me, because I am Adam’s child, just
how small I can be. How limited. How little I see of God’s presence and
power. His plan.
And then there is that line in 1 Kings 15 (verse 5). It is actually the second time mention is
made in this book about David being a faithful man. But this time, the writer takes it to a level
of laughability. He says, “David did
what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything
that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah
the Hittite.”
What?
I’m stunned by this sentence.
If Adam’s foolishness makes me realize how small I am, David’s
foolishness makes me realize how big God is.
Because David’s sin is real. It
is big. The deal with Uriah the Hittite is at
least twenty percent of the Big Ten, and that's if we’re being generous. There is no doubt about David's offense to the
holiness of God.
And yet, buried deep in the history of God’s people is this note that causes me to come face to face with God’s perspective. God’s purposes will not be
compromised; God’s grace is more profound still. God is big.
I am small and God is big.
And yet God cares what I do with my life.