Acts 13:22 has been on my mind lately. It speaks of how David was a man after God’s own heart. I ponder this because David committed adultery and murder. So how can this type of man be someone after God’s own heart when God’s heart is pure, righteous, and without sin?
I believe the answer to this question is in the response of David when Nathan, a prophet, confronted David with what he had done. David didn’t make excuses for his actions. He didn’t blame it on Bathsheba for being so beautiful and bathing where he could see her. He didn’t even try and blame it on God. David took responsibility for what he had done and repented. (1 Samuel 12:1-12)
This is a man after God’s own heart because even though he did wrong, he hated the thing he did and repented from it. This is where I believe God is asking me and all Christians to be. When we do sin, and we will, Paul says that we do what we do not want to do in our flesh (Romans 7: 14-20). So when we are faced with the fact that we have sinned against God, what is our reaction?
I know that mine has been nonchalant, and I have half repented, half blamed. My heart hasn’t been that of one after God’s own heart. If we genuinely want to follow Jesus Christ, then we need to start being accountable for our wrongdoing
To be a person after God’s own heart is to understand that we live in a fallen world that calls evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). If we are Children of God living in Jesus Christ and being one after God’s own heart, then we need to learn to hate sin yet show love and understanding to those around us. I also believe that we need to repent of our sins and not look back on them so that we don’t end up repeating them over and over.
To truly be a person after God’s own heart means to hate sin, even the evil in me. I know that while I am here on earth, I will never completely obtain this. What it does mean is that I am seeking to be more like Him in my everyday life. I am choosing to live in, and for Christ, until the day, He calls me home, the day that I have the heart of God.