In continuing our meditation from studying the lives of Saul, Israel’s first king, and David, Israel’s second king, we are told that David fled Saul who repeatedly tried to murder him. Saul massacred an entire village of priests out of rage against David. And a few months later, while he was still pursuing David, Saul went into a cave by himself where David and his men were hiding. David’s men encouraged David to kill Saul, which seemed like both justice and a great opportunity telling him that God had delivered the enemy into David’s hands. But David refrained from killing Saul. David showed grace (undeserved favor) towards Saul. Why would he do such a thing? Why show grace instead of exercising power?
The answer lies in the character of David, who was called a man after God’s own heart. In his heart, in his core, David modeled the character of God and the values of God’s Kingdom. And the currency of God’s Kingdom is grace not power. Grace magnifies selflessness (love). Power magnifies selfishness (the opposite of love). Let me explain with an illustration. Currency (cash money) is ubiquitous in our time because it is efficient as a means of exchange. Cash however, is in its most basic sense an elaborate metaphor. It is delayed access to power – on one end of the spectrum cash represents the power over our present circumstances (it provides access to things that give us pleasure and helps us avoid unpleasant things) and on the other end, cash represents just raw power (tanks, bombs, armies). The currency of the world promotes the central core value of the world – the thing it runs on – power.
In contrast of this world and its power structures stands Jesus who came and died in weakness. He also has a currency. Jesus’ currency is quite evidently love (read John’s epistles). He came and died in opposition to the power structures of the world to inaugurate a new kingdom because of his love for the world. All this was God acting in grace. We didn’t deserve Father God to give us his son as a gift. We didn’t deserve Jesus. It was all God acting by his grace (underserved favor) towards us. And grace, is the currency of the Kingdom of God. The currency of the Kingdom of God (grace) promotes the central core value of the Kingdom of God – the thing it runs on – love. God is love. (1 Jn 4:16)
Back to Saul and David. David rejected the currency of the world (power) and embraced the currency of the Kingdom of God (grace). With what result? Saul, when confronted with David’s grace wept in repentance, confessed his unrighteousness and David’s right to the throne of Israel. By refusing to exert his power, David showed that grace overcomes power. Grace triumphs over strength. God tells the Apostle Paul when he’s struggling with powerlessness over the circumstances of his life “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (1 Cor 12:9). Grace always wins in the end. We know that because at the cross of Jesus, the forces of this world and of darkness celebrated their use of power in the death of the Son of God. But we know that it was precisely in that moment that the greatest act of grace in all eternity was coming to fruition. Jesus was paying for our failures. He was saving us with his weakness. He was buying us out of the market of slavery to sin and death. And where did the power of death end up? Vanquished in Jesus’ resurrection. Grace overcomes power.
So I leave you with this thought. Do you feel powerless? Good. You are closer to God than the powerful. Reach out to Jesus and you’ll find him there waiting for you and ready and able to lavish his grace on you. Power or grace? You pick, but grace always wins.
All my love,
Jay Reynardus
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