With Jerusalem established as the capital and David’s city, David’s next act as king is to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the capital as a way of establishing the spiritual rule he intends to bring to Israel. Unfortunately, he learned the hard way that God’s will has to be done in God’s way. When he followed the way of the Philistines in trying to transport the ark on a cart, rather than being carried by the Levites on poles as described in Exodus 25:10-22, Uzzah was struck down by the Lord and David was both angry and afraid of God.

The story of the return of the ark to Israel – ultimately, a cause for great celebration since the ark and the Tabernacle were symbols of God’s holy presence with His people – is told in both 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 15 in some detail. We learn that it’s not enough to have good ideas and good motives; we have to do things God’s way and approach Him with due reverence and awe. There is no place for mere pragmatism and ‘sensible’ ideas; we must do things in the way God has prescribed.

David shows us, however, that it is possible to repent and be restored, for when he does bring the ark back in the right manner, there is great rejoicing and celebration. David dances before the Lord with complete abandon, something which his wife, Michal, sees and despises. She represents religion over relationship, decorum and duty over desire and heartfelt worship, and David reminds her of his debt to God and subsequent desire to celebrate (even if this means being undignified or humiliated in his own eyes.) He celebrated before the Lord (2 Sam 6:21) and understood that just because he was king did not give him greater merit in God’s eyes than anyone else. We are all sinners saved by grace alone through faith. We all have the same reasons to celebrate that David had, and are in an even more privileged position than he was, since we know more of God’s great salvation plan. God now dwells in us (1 Cor 6:19-20); His presence with us a miracle we do well to celebrate every day.

Tonight, as we continued exploring our identity as God’s people, we looked at 1 John 3:1-3, which is insistent that our primary identity is as God’s dearly loved children. The Message version says, ‘That’s who we really are’ (1 John 3:1, The Message), and J. B. Phillips says, ‘that is not just what we are called, but what we are.’ We may not feel loved (our past experiences and childhood may have left us with a fear of God as Father or a mistrust that is the result of broken promises to us), but the truth is that now we have an identity as beloved children which supersedes all other family ties and which enables us to be part of God’s worldwide family. We have an identity that is shaped and moulded by love and can stand firm even in storms and adversity (see Rom 8:37-39). To know we are loved is one of the greatest gifts we can ever possess.

To be called a child of God, to become a child of God, we must be born again (John 1:12, John 3:7), and then, as in the natural world, we must grow. (1 Pet 2:2, Eph 4:14) That means putting aside our old nature and rivalries (see Eph 4:23-24, 1 Cor 3:1-3); it involves a daily dying to self. (Mark 8:34) Toddler tantrums have to cease as we put aside our childish ways without losing our childlike faith. We must learn that being a child of God will involve God saying ‘no’ to us at times and disciplining us, but just as in the natural world this is for our good, so too God’s discipline arises from love and not from vindictiveness (see Heb 12:7-11). It’s a sign of spiritual growth when we can learn to wait on God and trust His goodness, even when things don’t seem to go our way.

Growth is not simply personal, but involves ‘iron sharpening iron’ as we grow together. (Prov 27:17, Eph 4:15-16). This means sharing each other’s burdens (Gal 6:2) and working together through our differences to a place of unity (see Phil 4:2-3) and maturity (‘fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.’ (Eph 4:13, The Message) Peter tells us, ‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.’ (1 Pet 4:10) Just as in a family no two children are alike, so in God’s family we each have different gifts; we each are stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. Diversity becomes in this way a blessing for each one of us.

We are children of God, a people who have experienced the love of God and who are therefore called to love one another deeply, from the heart, for love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Pet 4:8) God wants us to absorb how loved we are and then move on to love deeply, growing up as God wants us to, so that we become conformed to the image of Christ, our co-heir, as we are led by the Spirit of God. We are His children, able to call Him ‘Abba, Father’ (Rom 8:15), a privilege that shapes our identity every day of our lives.