Take Aim (ADVENT-URE 13: David's Slingshot)

Jesus has come to set us free from the power of sin that holds us captive, so that we might enjoy the
newness of life and rejoice in His presence. Ephesians 4 identifies what we are to turn away from:
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ...

Jesus comes not to accommodate our humanity and our sin, but to liberate us from the evil desires that we experience.  We are all born with hearts that need to be regenerated, hearts that are intent on following the ways of the world or the flesh; we need a Savior who has taken aim at the power of sin and defeated it.  It's a goal of our Christian life, as His disciples, to identify those areas of our heart that are dark and held captive by the enemy, so that the power of Christ might be released and we can experience victory.

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There was an intentionality that was present in the life of David and in the plan of God unfolding in him - and through him.  David's life was a marker in the genealogies that we read in the New Testament.  He was described as a "man after God's own heart," despite his flaws.

Today, as we continue this year's Advent-ure, I want to focus on one symbol of David's life that can be instructive for us and remind us of the significance of the coming of Christ.  We find the familiar story in 1st Samuel 17.  There was a giant named Goliath, of the Philistines, who was taunting the army of Israel.  The only person to respond to the one-on-one challenge was David - we pick up the story in verse 33:
33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."
34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,
35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.
36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God."
37 Moreover David said, "The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you!"

In verse 45, we read part of David's declaration:
45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

We know the rest of the story - David took his slingshot and five stones, but he only needed one to slay the giant.  God gave him abundant resources - more than was necessary.

David was a man who knew the power and the presence of God.  He was a mighty King of Israel, and we are told that Jesus would come to inhabit the throne of David, according to Isaiah 9:7, as well as the tabernacle of David (Isaiah 16:5).  His is a Kingdom that is not of this world.

Jesus won a magnificent victory for each of us.  He defeated the power of sin and death, and in 1st Corinthians 15, we read:
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

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David's slingshot, by which he defeated Goliath, reminds us of the strength and trust in God that he displayed.  Today, we celebrate the victory that is ours through Jesus Christ.   

I caught a story on the Mashable website regarding Apple's new collection of emojis for its latest iPhone operating system.  The article begins in this rather melancholic manner:

This hasn't been the easiest year. Luckily, we now have the perfect emoji to illustrate the feelings 2016 left in our cold dead hearts

Hidden among the 104 new emoji in Apple's iOS 10.2 update was a new spin on an old classic and it's already become everyone's favorite new emoji: the black heart.

The story goes on:

Also known as "dark heart emoji," according to Emojipedia, it "may be used to express morbidity, sorrow, or a form of dark humor."

It's also the perfect emoji for those who have had a rough time in 2016.

Boy, there are some happy thoughts for you.  The story also includes some Twitter posts endorsing the new emoji.  This illustrates a technique now in online news, where a handful of posts are used to illustrate a certain point and make you think that, well, "everybody" thinks a certain way.  It's a new and not completely accurate approach to news.

In two of the tweets, the phrase "matches my soul" is used in an endorsement of it.

Even though we may feel negative emotions, our hearts our heavy, or we feel darkness closing in around us, we can know that in Christ we can have hope.  And, I would note that we can also say that we have a "black heart," or a dark heart, because of...sin.

Jesus came to give us the victory over sin.  He defeated the power of Satan and has been raised to new life.  He wants us to share in that victory.  We are not called to celebrate evil, but to rejoice in its defeat.  David took aim at Goliath, he led his people to victory; Jesus takes aim at our enemy and leads us in triumph over the sin that would ensnare us.   At Christmas, we can reflect on the victory that He has won for us.