I am preaching the very difficult passage of 2 Samuel 11 this week. David and Bathsheba is a super shocking passage in context. Everything is going great in David’s life and then *WHAM* he’s raping one of his soldier’s wives and murdering her husband as a cover up! And the text is starkly unemotional about it. It reports the facts leaving the sin in a steaming pile on the floor of our minds.
David was a King. Who was holding him accountable? Who was he relating to that was calling him out!? It will not be until chapter 12 that David will be brought to account, and it is through a spiritual director to whom God reveals David’s sin!
I have a memorized speech that I give at our monthly “Lunch with the Pastor” events. This is where I answer questions about the church for new people and encourage them to take next steps of getting involved at ReCAST. I tell them about my view of membership. First, membership in a local church should have some sense of defining the relationship. It lets the leadership know that you are voluntarily connecting with this local assembly for mutual up-building. But Secondly, and more to the point of this blog, is the reality that membership in the local body is “present you” attempting to safe-guard “future you”. You are voluntarily joining together with a group of people pledged together to care for one another’s souls.
In church membership, “present you” is telling the church that if “future you” goes off the rails, you desire to be surrounded by the kind of people who will call “future you” to account. You are inviting others into your business. Because we are all made out of the same stuff as David, we need the help of others to walk this road of faith in Christ! And God has been gracious to give us a community of people who love each other enough to have the tough conversations.
I am so glad for ReCAST Church and the true and authentic love we have been able to express with one another over the years. Occasionally it takes the form of ‘tough love’ moments. This Sunday evening will be a family meeting for one such type of tough love moment. We are a church that is faithful to call those who asked us to, to come back to repentance and back to Jesus.
Not all love looks like acceptance. Because sometimes we go off the rails. [See David in 2 Samuel 11]