Spinning Webs – Part 1
Halloween is coming and decorations are definitely all over, plus candy is front and center at every grocery store. One of the regular sightings of this haunting time is spiderwebs. I’ve never fully understood their place in the horror realm, but I guess they are synonymous with abandoned old haunted houses that people seem to always find themselves rummaging through unnecessarily. Plus, nothing is more terrifying…ly hilarious than watching someone frantically grasp at the air, pulling at their face after walking through a big nasty web.
Speaking of spider webs, a really good friend from college used to say, “Oh, what tangled webs we weave,” when he encountered a convoluted collection of connections between people, usually referring to messy relationship dynamics, but sometimes just other complexities of life.
So, for the next 4 weeks we’ll gaze at the wonder of the intricacies of the webs we weave, see how marvelously tangled they’ve become, and spend some time tearing them down or scrambling to get them off our faces.
One of the most tangled webs in all of scripture, involves a military general, an affair, a king, and an honest friend.
You’ve probably heard the story of David and Bathsheba. To recap, David is the king of Israel and skips going on war tour with the troops. While home, he sees a woman bathing and watches too long, sends for her, then sleeps with her. She gets pregnant. In order to cover this up, he calls for her husband to come home from war, but Uriah is too loyal to his troops so won’t even go sleep at home. David resolves to having Uriah moved to front lines of battle upon his return so that he is sure to be killed.
With Uriah gone, David has Bathsheba come stay with him but as with all scandals, the burn is far from over. David’s good buddy, Nathan, calls him out. David confesses and owns his failure, but it’s still not without consequences and deep pain and lasting wounds.
The son born to Bathsheba and David dies leaving the scars of that decision permanently carved on the skin of both their hearts.
Last night at the Evany Clinic Gala, we listened to a woman expose the depth of her darkest secret in her story of her decision to get an abortion while in college. As she pulled back the curtain to her life revealing the prison of shame in which she had lived for so long, the love of Jesus poured on her cleansing her wounds and restoring her soul. You could see new life growing in her, even, as she shared. (This was her first public confession after 20 years of hiding.)
The thing you need to know today is that redemption is available to EVERYONE no matter the mistake. God is ALWAYS willing and ABLE to forgive AND restore.
David and Bathsheba both found new life and God used them after their failure. Sure, there were scars to live with and healing needed but God redeemed the worst and brought purpose AFTER pain. Jesus was a descendent of this couple. WOW!!!
Just like God did that with David and Bathsheba, Angela Harris (who shared her story at the Evany Clinic Gala), and myself, God is willing, ready, and able to do that for you! Just let the LIGHT in and dispel the darkness.
Maybe you don’t have a dark shameful secret eating you alive, but you know someone who does. Or maybe you’ve let the destruction of generalizations and stereotypes prevent you from extending life to someone in need. Even if you’re living forgiven, would you be one who offers hope instead of hate or more hurt?
Oh, what tangled webs we weave, indeed. Maybe it’s time we start tearing them down!
Brett
0 Comments