I am Adam’s child.
I am always stopped by the line in Genesis spoken by Adam when he is caught in his sin. “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree and I ate.” This is the creation-story equivalent of a child pointing to a sibling when a vase is broken. Adam chooses, surely against better judgment, to deflect his own weakness by blaming his wife. Like God wouldn’t notice the discrepancy here. Like God won’t hold Adam accountable. “Oh, well then … never mind.”
Really, it is a profound line. It shows me, because I am Adam’s child, just how small I can be. How limited. How little I see of God’s presence and power. His plan.
And then there is that line in 1 Kings 15: 5. It is actually the second time mention is made in this book about David being a faithful man. But this time, the writer takes it to a level of laughability. He says, “David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.”
Did you see that?
Except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. It is said almost as an aside, a footnote, a detail. The rest of that story, of course, is that David killed Uriah the Hittite. To hide the fact that he slept with Uriah’s wife.
Except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
What?
I’m stunned by this sentence. If Adam’s foolishness makes me realize how small I am, David’s foolishness makes me realize how big God is. Because David’s sin is real. It is big. The deal with Uriah the Hittite is at least twenty percent of the Big Ten, and that’s if we’re being generous. There is no doubt about David’s offense to the holiness of God.
And yet, buried deep in the history of God’s people is this revelation that causes me to come face to face with God’s perspective. God’s purposes will not be compromised; God’s grace is more profound still. God is big.
I am small and God is big.
And yet God cares what I do with my life.
Hallelujah.
