It seems like God’s Word has been really timely lately. Every time I turn to the Psalms to read for the day, there is a passage that applies to what’s going on, or what will go on. Sure, I might be reading too much into the relevance of what I’m reading, but it’s relevant none-the-less and is a cool reminder that what God has spoken is just as applicable now as then.

Today I’ve been thinking a lot about sin, grace, and forgiveness. It’s only fitting that I read Psalm 51, written by David as a response to Nathan confronting him about wrongly sleeping with Bathsheba (and later having her husband killed in battle!). It is a beautiful plea to God to remember His lovingkindness in the wake of our transgression.

One thing I never really thought of is the fact that our sin, our offense, is really between us and God. Unfortunately, innocent by-standers feel the fallout of that mistake, but what makes it a sin is that we violated what God commanded. I usually think about the brokenness between me and other people, rarely do I think about the brokenness between me and God.

David doesn’t throw up his defenses and try and talk his way out of it, he deeply knows what he did was evil (comparing it to a broken bone) and that God will be just with His verdict. David begs that his heart would be cleansed and that God would not take His Spirit away from him. If only we all felt the weight of brokenness like David. I can’t remember the last time I begged God to let His Spirit remain in me.

Ultimately, David knows there is nothing he can do to be in right standing before God. Only God can restore and deliver. David understand this, and what an awesome testimony of God’s grace and compassion it will be! He will go on to teach “transgressors” and “sinners” of what God has done out of His great love.

It seems like we have a lot to learn from David, especially in terms of how we respond to the sin of other people:

• We are not to come down in judgment, that is God’s role. I remember a wise man (Steve Larson) saying that we, as Christians, are in the business of reconciliation. Because of the fact that God restores and delivers, we must act in the same way to repair brokenness and come alongside the sinner.
• No one is above reproach. David was a “man after God’s own heart” and he did something incredibly stupid. Who am I to think I am any better? Such a somber reminder that we need to always be on guard.
• God is so good. We need to rejoice in the fact that God is both loving and just, and to tell people of the story of His redemption.