A Man After God's Own Heart

I don't know about you, but I always heard that phrase before to mean, "David had such a great heart, so God wanted him to be His own" or "he's doing all the right things to make God like him."

That's how I've heard the phrase used so often. Don't we often hear people admonish us to raise up our children so that they will be people "after God's own heart"? Don't we hear what they should do, how they should act, what kind of morals we should instill, so that they can be people "after God's own heart"? Aren't we told to pray more and strive to be good so that we can be people "after God's own heart"?

Our Bible class this week was on the story of David. Pastor started with this scriptural description of David. And he started with "WHO is after WHAT?" It's not that God likes David because he's such a swell guy. David wants to go after God's heart. (Hey! Look! That's actually what the words say!)

And what is "God's own heart"? A heart of mercy and grace and sacrificial love. "A man after God's own heart" is a man who desires the Lord's love which he has not earned.