February 8 - 1 Kings 3:6

February 8 - 1 Kings 3:6

“And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. “

I don’t know about you, but the fact that these words can be spoken by David’s son, Solomon when talking to the Lord, does a lot for my poor sinner’s heart.

We all know that David was a sinner … in multiple ways, yet we also know that he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) and only because he had been a man of war, not a man who had sinned, was he not allowed to build the Temple for God in Jerusalem.  God honored David with a covenant which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ and his name as King of Israel remains a name that continues to be honored.

David’s sin was not held against him.  His life was difficult, he faced great trials.  Some of those were brought about because of his sin, but it never separated him from God’s love.

We tend to measure God’s love against our sin.  We measure our love for each other against the sin another has committed, whether it is great or small.  Unconditional love is nearly impossible.  If we perceive any type of sin, we find it very easy to reject a person.  We have found ourselves rejected because of another’s perception of our sin.  It is a human thing to do.

Consequently, we expect God to treat us in the same way.  But, God’s love is never ending and He does not base it on us.  His love is always there for us.  It never lessens, it never fades, it never wanes.  It is unchanging and it is eternal.  God’s love was fulfilled on the cross and was never measured by our propensity to sin.  His work on the cross was done to cover that sin, to atone for that sin. 

We need to understand that God does not treat us as we treat each other.  We may value a person because of how good they are or devalue a person based on their actions and lifestyle.  God never approaches us in that same manner.  Never.  He always loves us.  His forgiveness is infinite and is love is immeasurable.