The Father's Heart

Reconsidering David's life as a whole, I began to consider what it really meant to be someone after God's own heart. His life was curious to say the least. What distinguished him from Saul, wasn't simply that he never seemed to repeat a mistake, but he had a genuine desire to please and understand God. He also seemed to crown God as king throughout his life. There were very interesting things that set Saul and David apart. In Phillipian's 2 (apparently the chapter of the year) it says (in reference to Jesus) "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant." How does this relate to David? Well In considering why he was a man after God's own heart, I can't help but wonder if it was simply because unlike Saul and those around him he really understood his role. No, he was not perfect, but unlike his predecessor he understood that his title as King meant very little apart from God. In every battle and circumstance, he would consult with God regarding what he should do. He showed true humility, and was willing to set aside his pride, in knowing that ultimately God's vision for Israel was far greater than his could ever be.

The idea of humility is something so absent amidst our society. Even in Christians. It's not simply humility in the sense of the way we function with one another, but essentially with God. What holds us back from consulting with God throughout our lives? Before David went into any battle he would consult with the Lord to see, how and which way he should go. Everyday we face the challenges and battle of living in this world. Yet so often we are willing to put aside consulting with the Lord. Perhaps it's the fear of not getting an answer, though God may not verbally address us, I don't think it's beyond reason to assume he hears our prayers and leads our hearts in the right direction. Or maybe it's the fear of getting an answer, and the reality that it probably won't be the answer we want. Either way, shouldn't we long to chase after his own concerning ourselves with what concerns him?

Yesterday, I had an interesting day of reflection. I visited my Aunt, and being in the house reminded me of a very faint memory. Awhile back I had mentioned Sister Linda. She was one of my teachers in elementary school. About a month before I began the year, she actually came to visit me. i had never ever met her before, and I assumed maybe it was because she was worried about me as a student or something. I soon learned she did this with every student. She literally would go to visit all her students before every year, just to meet them and their families. She sat in my living room, mind you at the time I was living in the projects with my aunt, uncle, sister, great-grandmother, and mother, in a two bedroom apartment. Part of me was embarrassed, part of me was completely transformed. It was the first school year, that I actually anticipated. I realized that I was going into a year with a teacher who cared about her students, and I knew something was different about her. I didn't understand at the time what a sister was. I just assumed they dressed up in black and prayed a lot. But its so far beyond that, she really was one of my earliest pictures of Jesus. Her humility and actions were such a clear picture, of something not of this world.

I say all this to draw into remembrance the idea that Jesus has always showed himself real to me, but it's so easy too overlook the transformative interactions to which he reveals himself in. How often do we consider the steps along the road to, which God's love reveals itself? And how would reconsidering these moments make God's presence in our lives more real, and even more tangible.