Recently, I read a very appalling story. It was about a very well-regarded Christian leader who had achieved much for the kingdom of God and fought many battles for Him. He was a very influential leader and from what I understand, he was handpicked by God for leadership.

However, he committed an abuse of power, immoral act against a woman, adultery – and tried to cover up for his mistake.

Basically, this leader was a married man. But when one of his followers was away on a mission trip, he forced himself on that man’s wife. She became pregnant with this leader’s child.

To cover up for this, he tried to send the couple on a vacation for some time alone. However, his friend refused to accept such a gift. Refusing to let his sin come to light, the leader again used his authority to assign this man to a war-zone mission trip – where the follower unfortunately passed away.

This outrageous man is King David.

We can remember King David for his affair with Bathsheba, or we can remember him for his fight with Goliath (1 Samuel 17), his freestyle dancing in the streets in worship of his God (2 Samuel 6:20), or the beautiful songs that he wrote.

We can easily label him as the adulterous one, but in Acts, the Bible has recorded him as the man after God’s own heart:

“After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’ From the descendants of this man, God has brought to Israel the Saviour Jesus, as He promised.” (Acts 13:22-23)

Do men fall? Yes.

Do men fall whilst being close to God? Yes, even those who had God in the flesh with them, such as Peter.

Did God destroy their ministry thereafter? No.

Did they continue to do great things for God? Yes.

Man slips up again and again, yet God doesn’t give up on us – He continues to use us to do greater things.

Now I take a look at myself.

Have I sinned? Yes.

Have I sinned while being close to God? Yes.

Has God destroyed my ministry? No.

Do I continue to be engaged by God to do great things with and for Him? Yes.

Does this make my sin not a sin? No.

The Bible has an extensive record of men slipping up again and again and yet, God doesn’t give up on them. Instead, He continues to use them to do greater things.

Why? Because we are His creation and He loves us. He loves us so much, He sent his Son Jesus to die for us so that we could be eternally in His presence despite all our wrongs.

I have slipped up so many times in my Christian walk, whether it be the way I handle my relationship with my brothers and sisters, or the way I interact with my bosses and colleagues. I am amazed at God’s grace that despite what I’ve done, He continues to use me.

His grace really is amazing.

2 Samuel 12 is the chapter where the prophet Nathan confronts David about his sin. David confesses to Nathan that he sinned against the Lord and Nathan metes out the consequence:

“The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.” (2 Samuel 12:14)

David pleads with God for the child’s life, but as Nathan prophesied, the child is taken ill soon after he is born, and dies within seven days.

In the light of the City Harvest case, I am reminded that yes, God is just, but He is also merciful. He is loving. He is well aware of the weakness of man – 2 Samuel 12 is an illustration of that.

If I accept the findings of the Court to be true, then well, a mistake was made by church leadership. Whether it was made with the worst of intentions, an epic abuse of power and trust – or just a bad business decision and poor accounting, I don’t think we will ever know for sure. But I do know that the people involved are in jail now serving time.

But as with the story of King David, I could remember City Harvest Church as the church where the pastors went to jail for criminal breach of trust – or I could remember them as the City Harvest Church that drew and continues to draw many of my friends to Christ.

I remember that some of my pre-believing friends would make attending City Harvest Church their yearly affair just to watch the Christmas and Easter productions because they were so spectacular. I am proud that some of our favourite worship songs are written by this local church: “Come Holy Spirit” and “永远敬拜”.

I pray that the church does not fall victim to guilt, shame and infighting.

In 2 Samuel 12, after David’s scandal and rebuke, he goes on to muster his army – just like the old days – and captures the enemy city of Rabbah. He continues doing great exploits as the warrior king. He is also famously remembered for being father to King Solomon, his second child with Bathsheba, and – most honourable of all – was the bloodline to Jesus.

“Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind.” (1 Kings 10:23-24)

I pray that the church – both City Harvest as well as the churches in the kingdom – will not take the court verdict as a sign to pull back from the mission of impacting lives, and making church relevant to the youth.

I pray that the church does not fall victim to guilt, shame and infighting.

And I pray that the church bounces back and comes to truly understand the Scriptural principle that the greater the transgression, the greater the grace – and the greater the opportunity to show forth the redemptive promises of God. Just like King David learnt.

The facts in this article are premised on the Court’s finding.