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Jesus said, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father. We think of Christ as feeding the poor, healing the sick, forgiving sin of those willing to confess them; Jesus is Mr. Compassion. The American church has embraced this definition of God and his Christ and used it to exalt social justice to solid Christian doctrine. What we do not understand is kindness and compassion, empathy or whatever you want to call it is merely a product of the new birth in Christ. You become a new creature to the glory of the Father.
But Jesus had a sharp rebuke for Peter in Mathew 19: 23. Get behind me Satan is a chilling response to Peter. Jesus was offended that Peter considered the will of men instead of the will of God. Peter thought he knew God but quickly found out that he had only begun to brush the surface of that impossible desire to know the one who created all things.
Saul was the first king of Israel. He didn’t do what God told him to do. His desire was to have the adoration of the people for his great exploits. Keeping the spoils of war was important to his prestige. Popularity and the praise of men was essential to staying of the throne. When David came along and achieved greater victories, Saul became jealous and the very presence of David made him angry. Saul lived his life and served as king for his own glory.
When David became king he did very sinful things. The difference between Saul and David is simply this. When confronted with his sin Saul made excuses and wasn’t repentive. David was confronted and humbled himself. That’s why David is a man after God’s own heart. David is an example for us; we need to humble ourselves before God and stop thinking this bag of flesh that’s perishing has any value outside of grace.