Our decision can either make us or break us. This statement is already a cliché but only to a chosen few that this adage has sunk in their hearts and truly learned from it well.
Every day we make decisions and are to face different choices. These choices absolutely mark our lives and define us as a person.
Do you believe that we reap what we sow? That in every action there’s a consequence that tags along with it? If there’s input, there shall be an output? A cause shall have an effect, if there’s a smoke, there shall be fire? If there’s a crime, there’s a penalty. These are what we call courses of action and response.
To understand this fully, why don’t we look at our bible and see what does it tell us whenever we make choices, where does it bring us.
Since we started discussing the life of David in Session 1, might as well peruse his character and the choices he made and see what happened to this man whom God called “A man after His own heart”. In 2nd Samuel Chapter 11, you learned that David made some bad choices, from being idle, he committed adultery, then to murder, until finally married Bathsheba. Let’s find out if David was able to escape from his scheme, remember that he resorted to extreme measures just to hide his misdeeds.
Please turn your bible on 2nd Samuel Chapter 12, and let’s read verses 1- 14. Shall we start from the left side of this group, and read one verse each.
Based from the verses we read what do we learned? Are David’s bad choices are his own little secret?
Sometimes we can hide things we did from people, from our friends, even from our family but we can’t hide from God. Note that in verse 1 of 2nd Samuel chapter 12, it was God who sent Nathan to make David come to his senses, allowing David to realize that Someone up there was watching him, Someone saw what he did.
Let’s look deeply into the next verses, from the last part of verse 1 down to verse 4 spoke of Nathan’s parable which of course is parallel to what David did in Chapter 11 of this book (2nd Samuel). But did u see the reaction of David in verse 5? Did he try to come clean? As if he hasn’t done anything wrong? Some scholars said that the sympathy of David had been deeply obtained upon hearing the sad story, his anger aroused, but his conscience was still asleep. Why? It’s because at this time he was fatally kind or lenient to his own sins and perhaps his thoughts is really rationalizing the event that somehow it’s okay coz nobody knows. On the other hand, he was almost ready to condemn the felony and errors of others, let’s read again verses 5 and 6.
Have u experienced being busted by what you did? What do you think was the feeling of David when Nathan said, “You’re the man!” in verse 7? Surely it’s a terrible feeling of being caught, right? But is that the final penalty of it? Was the case closed when it was revealed?
Take note of verse 9, did God know the detail of everything we do? Does our every bad decision have corresponding aftereffect? Let’s see and closely observe verses 10 to 12.
So do you realized that the decision David made from despising the Word of the Lord actually conceived greater sorrow in David’s life? Do you think the consequences did happen? If you read the succeeding chapters of 2nd Samuel, you will find out how chaotic life was for David. His life was truly miserable. His bad choices first brought trouble into his family, his children caused him grief, second his wives became his shame, and third, the public knew these things that would happen, it could not be concealed. To sum the whole drama in David’s life, in the natural course of things, it diminished the respect of his family, weakened the authority of his government, and even encouraged the prevalence of many disorders throughout his kingdom.
Though the brighter side of David was, he repented, note verse 13 says, “Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”…” And David was forgiven, as the rest of the verse states “…the Lord has taken away your sin; you shall not die.” Not dying here may mean that David was not wiped out in the names of the heroes of Faith, being dubbed also as the “Man after God’s own Heart” and from obtaining eternal life. The Psalms he wrote proved the sincerity and depth of his remorseful grief.
One great truth also of God’s divine grace is we can really claim His promise that if we confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 JN 1:9)
But the great BUT in all the things that we learned from the life of David was, in verse 14 it says, “However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”
The Lord made it very plain in the New Testament that believer cannot escape reaping the kind of harvest they sow. We cannot hide our sin; we will not get away with it. The secrets of the night are not hidden from God. Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Theodore Epp)
My friends, we are dismayed as we think of a man like David, wondering how he could have fallen so low. HOWEVER, rather than pointing our finger to David, We, godly people, are equally challenged to make good choices and are expected to practice Christian lifestyle. We are not exempted to make bad choices, because we sometimes really do. While it is true that we are free to make choices BUT we are not free to choose the consequences. Numbers 32 verse 23 says, “… {and you may be sure that} your sins will find you out.”
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©Maria Lileth C. Abejuela, speaker (excerpt from the message delivered during the CCF Youth Camp; Nasuli, Bangcud, Malaybalay City, May 27-29, 2005)
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