Grace

Q and A

By Amy Gentry

Q: Why is David called a man after God’s own heart?
ACTS 13:22 “After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’”

 A:  I believe that there is a multitude of reason why David was called a man after God’s own heart.  You could write many a sermon series over this very question and still not even begin to scratch the surface.   I read the One Year Bible every year and recently I was in the books of Samuel and was struck by an attribute of David’s character that I have never noticed before. www.oneyearbibleonline.com

GRACE.

David mourned the death of Saul, his pursuer (2 Samuel 1:11).  David blessed and showed favor to the people who buried Saul, his pursuer (2 Samuel 2:4).  David sought out any remaining descendants of Saul, just so that he could show kindness to the descendent of his pursuer (2 Samuel 9:1-13).  Then David did not punish the same descendent of Saul when he failed to join David on the battlefield (2 Samuel 19:18-29).

GREAT GRACE!!!

David extended great grace when he was not obligated to; he had every right to take revenge on his pursuer.  He was not required to bless, favor, or pardon any of the descendents of Saul.  But he did.

Maybe David was called a man after God’s own heart because, just like Jesus, he extended GREAT GRACE when it was never earned. 

To whom do you need to extend GREAT GRACE to today?