SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 4
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
How much more–when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed–should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!” [2 Samuel 4:11] David’s thinking was so different from the ‘normal’ thinking of the day. Other kings would thank whoever helped get rid of their ‘enemies’; other kings would have rewarded Baanah and Recab. But David sees things differently, not perfectly, but certainly differently. He was still quick to kill people when they didn’t see things like he did. But he was driven by a concern to honour the Lord and the Lord’s anointed, even if it was Saul or Saul’s heir.

You have heard that it was said, `Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. [Matthew 5:38-39] Jesus also sees things very differently than ‘normal’. The ‘normal’ response to evil is evil, and to anger is anger. ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth’. But as someone has noted, this view of justice will leave the whole world blind and toothless. We’ve got to break the cycle of violence. David was moving in the right direction, but he was still flawed in his follow-through. But Jesus follows His thinking through right to the cross. He overcomes evil with good; He beats sin, death and hell with humility, mercy, compassion, kindness, forgiveness. He turns the other cheek, and wins!

Like David, we need to think differently than the ‘normal’ way of thinking. Like Jesus, we need to go against what seems ‘normal’, to do what is ‘good’. Through it all we need to remember that we ourselves are accepted by God’s mercy. In some ways, we are like Baanah and Recab; we do what we think is right, only to discover its not what God desires. God is looking for more than our version of goodness, He desires His version of goodness. But thankfully He is not like David, He does not implement the death penalty. Instead He shows us mercy, undeserved mercy. And then He asks us to extend that same mercy to others.

Yes, we live by mercy, therefore we need to live mercy. Just as others do not deserve it, neither do we; just as we are forgiven by grace, we need to forgive others by grace. Just as God overcomes our guilt with His goodness, we need to overcome others guilt with goodness. Of course its hard; of course its not ‘normal’. But it’s the Jesus way – the way that we are forgiven, and the way that others will be forgiven.

PRAYER:
Lord, Your way seems so odd, and is so hard. Change my heart and mind so I can think – and act – like You, in grace, mercy and love.