Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“As I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’, so will I do this day.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, October 29, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
David made a lot of mistakes in his life. A lot. Terrible ones. In so many ways he was just as messed up as Saul had been, if not moreso. But here, at least, he does right by Bathsheba, whose husband he had murdered so he could steal her, and which sin caused her firstborn to die. He had promised her he would put her son, Solomon, on the throne after him, ahead of all of his older sons by other wives.
I could make a list of things I’ve done in my life that I’m not proud of. Despite all the work I’ve done around making amends and self-forgiveness, sometimes old tapes still play in my head, telling me I’m a lousy human being because of them. And it’s just not true. I’m not a lousy human being. I’m a human being. Full stop.
If David, in all his flawed messiness, could become the most celebrated king in all of Jewish tradition, whose descendant, Jesus, would redeem all of creation, then I can be a beloved child of God just as I am and have been.
Are there things I’ve done in my past that I haven’t forgiven myself for?