Where We Came From

You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. 2 Samuel 12:9-10

My wife and I met at a Christian camp* where we were both counselors for the summer. I’m not recommending love-at-first-sight but it most definitely was . . . for me. I pursued her for seven years and for seven years, she remained uninterested in romance. Eventually though, I wore her down and we married. My point in telling the story though, is that we met at a place where we both worked because of our faith. Our faith then, has been central to our marriage, a fact for which I’m grateful. How we started out has defined our marriage. This principle works both ways though. If we had individual struggles which we brought to the relationship, then those struggles have also exerted their influence. For instance, unbeknownst to my wife, I was developing a problem with chemicals – a struggle which has left a permanent mark on our marriage. Still though, in that struggle, I’m grateful that we had the faith from our camp-roots to lean on. Where we started out has had a lot to do with where we’ve ended up.

This principle is illustrated in today’s passage in which God, through the prophet Nathan, confronted King David over his relationship with Bathsheba. David and Bathsheba’s marriage was born out of adultery, treachery, and murder. Maybe they loved each other, but God promised that they couldn’t escape their beginnings. Their relationship was born out of destruction, and so, destruction would pursue them. It didn’t take long for this reality to set in, as the son that was conceived in the adulterous affair, died shortly after birth. How their relationship began defined a lot of David and Bathsheba’s relationship. There were good things that came from the marriage – their son Solomon was Israel’s next king – but still, the relationship was born out of destruction and so, destruction followed them.

Daily now, I pray for my own kids and their future spouses. Life is hard and trials will challenge every marriage. So, I want my kids to have the kind of foundation that my wife and I have had. As our faith has been central to our marriage, my wife and I desire the same for our children. Where we start out has a lot to do with where we end up.

*My wife and I still go back to that same camp for our yearly family get-together, a picture of which, is included with today’s blog.