People exchange many compliments. He’s a great person. She’s a class act. He’s quite an athlete. She’s a special friend. In the world of sports we often hear the expression “He has color.” While I cannot exactly define it, I think you understand what it means. The athlete with color makes his easy plays look speculator and his mistakes are readily forgotten. “He has color,” we say.
But perhaps the greatest compliment ever paid to a person was the compliment paid to the biblical character, David. It was spoken by the prophet Samuel to an unfaithful King Saul. Samuel notified Saul that because of his failure to keep God’s command, the kingdom of Israel would be taken away from him forevermore. Then Samuel stated: “But now, your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command” (l Samuel 13:14).
Now, since David was specifically called “a man after God’s own heart” we might get the impression that David was a saint or a super human hero. But deep down, we know he wasn’t. We recall that he committed a terrible sin in his lust for Bathsheba. And even though he repented and was later forgiven by God, he still suffered for that sin all his life. So God didn’t choose David because he was perfect. Basically, God chose David because David was willing to be used of God. God is not looking for perfect people or “holier-than-thou people” but for ordinary people like you and me who are willing to be used of God. So what are some of the qualities of a person after God’s own heart?
First, there’s the quality of spirituality! In the comic strip “Peanuts,” Charlie Brown was talking to Linus. He was bemoaning his chronic sense of inability to do what he was being called upon to do. Charlie said, “Linus, it all goes back to the very beginning. The moment I was born and stepped out on the stage of history, they took one look at me and said, ‘He’s not right for the part.” That’s the way many of us feel when we hear the word “spirituality.” We feel that somehow we are not right for the part. But what does it mean really to be a person after God’s own heart? It means to live one’s life in harmony with God. When we are spiritual it means that we have a heart that is sensitive to the things of God — living away from the shadows, being prayer-focused and conscious of that greater kingdom.
Second, there’s the quality of humility! R.A. Torrey, an American minister, wrote a little book titled, “Why God Used D.L. Moody.” Torrey was writing about the noted 19th century revivalist Dwight L. Moody, perhaps the best known evangelist of his day. In the book, Torrey listed seven reasons why God used Mr. Moody. The fourth reason listed was “Moody was a humble man.” Explained Torrey, “Oh, how Moody loved to put himself in the background and put others in the foreground.” David himself was a humble servant.
Third, there’s the quality of faithfulness in little things! In realizing his new fate, what could David have done? He could have run to the store and began searching for crowns. He could have set a sign in his yard that said, “Home of the king-elect.” Or he could have called a press conference and declared, “I’m the man.” For sure, that would have been controversial and just what the doctor ordered. But what did David do? He went right back to his duty of tending sheep. You see, David was faithful in little things. If we want to be people of large vision, we must cultivate the habit of taking care of the little things — the way we handle our daily assignments, our study habits, the way we fill out detailed reports, the attention we give our spouse, our children, our friends, our correspondence and our work. And that is one of the strong messages God is sending us through David, “a person after God’s own heart” will always be faithful in little things.
The Rev. Hal Brady is an ordained United Methodist minister and executive director of Hal Brady Ministries, based in Atlanta. You can watch him preach every week on the Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters TV channel Thursdays at 8 p.m.
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