Everyone will fall, even the most spiritual. In the Bible, that’s King David, Israel’s greatest king, and arguably the greatest king in world history. As we learn from 2 Samuel 11, David was overcome by his own sinful desires. He did the unthinkable, having an affair with the wife of one of his most loyal soldiers; then, to cover up his crime, he had the soldier murdered. The reader winces at every turn in the story, as David desperately tries to cover up his sin. He’ll go to any length to keep his wrongs hidden, even murdering an innocent, righteous husband. David was willing to put others to death in order to save himself. He was willing to shed innocent blood in order to cover his sin. –And David was the best.
We need a better king.
Jesus is the better King. He was willing to put himself to death in order to save others. He shed his own blood in order to cover our sins. He did not hide from our faults; he ran to them and embraced them. Unlike King David, who tried to cover up his sins and keep them a secret, King Jesus is not afraid to take the blame for our sins.
Here’s what King Jesus wants to say to us, to you.
“I am not afraid to be accused of your sins. I am not afraid to be called a liar, an adulterer, or a hypocrite. I am not afraid of owning what you did, of coming out into the open, of not hiding. I will gladly take your punishment, embarrassment, and shame, upon myself. I will take ownership of you and identify with you, so that who you are becomes who I am, so that I become everything that you are. I will absorb every part of you. I become you, so that you can let go of who you are—or were—and become me.”
“When I soak up your sin, you soak up my perfection, forgiveness, and wholeness. In short, I will die in your place and you will rise in mine. Why? Because I love you.”
When we truly take in what he has done for us, the only thing left for us to do is worship.
© Samuel Kee, 2012
