Bad Stuff, Good Stuff

(Proverbs 4:3 KJV)  For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

In comparing the two translations I work with I noticed a difference.  The NASB has “son” twice, the KJV only once.  The KJV translates the second “son” as “only beloved.”  Notice that the “beloved” is in italics which means it is not in the Hebrew and is added for understanding.  Here the KJV is more accurate with “only” (3173) instead of “son.”  The word has the idea of being singular and exclusive. 

This is talking about David and Bathsheba.  This is a reminder to us that God can take our greatest sin and bring blessing from it.  Remember that the names of David and Bathsheba speak of deceit, adultery and murder.  Bad stuff.  It also reminds us of repentance, forgiveness and restoration.  Good stuff.

So?  No matter how bad your day is going or how much failure you saw yesterday, God stands ready to restore and embrace the person who has genuine repentance.  God doesn’t play games but keep in mind that Jesus did not go to the cross to see how many people he could send to hell.  Think, repent, live.