The sins of the father

My favorite bible character is King David. I can't wait to meet him in heaven. If we can go back in time there, I want to witness his entrance into Jersusalem, ushering the Ark of the Covenant back into Israel with exuberant dancing. Actually, I don't merely want to witness this event, I want to participate in it! If David doesn't mind a partner, I'm his girl.

Anyway, I've been studying David's flee from Saul for weeks (I Samuel 18-31). David was Saul's armor-bearer, his servant, his "son". He served Saul with faithfulness and integrity until (in one day) everything changed. Saul wanted to kill David. David was exiled from the palace, separated from his family and friends, and forced into the wilderness to fight for his life. Saul's army came after him three times, with 3,000 soldiers against one godly man. David had to deal with trying to stay alive, understanding the anger and rejection from his spiritual father, and keeping faith in God's promises to Him. What impresses me the most about David's response to Saul is his ability to forgive in spite of the abuse. He refused to kill Saul (twice) when he had the opportunity, and when his own men encouraged him to. When Saul was eventually killed by the Philistines, David did not rejoice. He mourned and wept and fasted. He killed the messenger that bragged about taking Saul's life, saying "Where you not afraid to kill the Lord's anointed one?" (2 Samuel 1:14). He honored the men that buried Saul and Jonathan, and wrote a funeral song for them which describes them as "beloved" and "gracious". The capacity to forgive like this can only come from the power of God. Here is a modern day example of forgiving the sins of the father....

I was honored to mentor some dear women in dance ministry a few years ago and met a sweet woman I'll call Miriam. As we got to know each other, she shared her testimony with me. As a child she had been sexually abused by her father and her uncle on a regular basis. As she grew into a teenager, this abuse resulted in promiscuity, prostitution, multiple abortions, and a hatred toward men. As an adult, after all this trauma and abuse, God healed her and she was able her to forgive her father. She forgave him so completely that her relationship with him was restored. Can you imagine the life-changing, supernatural power that had to be there for this to occur? Well, it did. They spent time together, developed a friendship, and she even cared for him (as in a nurse, as in bathed him) when he was old and dying. The same power that God gives us at salvation is available to us to forgive. Miriam did it. David did it. We all can.