Who are you?

I have "no Facebook" a rule when I'm writing my sermon, meaning I don't go on Facebook that day until after I do the writing I intend for the day. My original plan today had been to write but late in the day, when it was apparent that I wouldn't and I had the other work-related tasks for the day finished, I spent some time catching up with the world on Facebook.  And in doing so I came across something I couldn't pass up.

It was a quiz. I usually skip quiz's. This one was called Which Bible Character Are You? and I passed it by, but then came back.  A friend had done it and was told he was King Solomon. So I decided to check it out.

I was asked a question about who I was (curious, because they already knew I was Brad) and then, with a single click, I would be told which Bible character I was and put that information on  Facebook.  I paused.

My friend was told he was Solomon.  Not too bad at first glance.  Most powerful of all the kings of Israel.  Unparalleled wealth and wisdom.  But there is also the matter of 700 wives, 300 concubines, and most seriously, the words of 1 Kings 11:4,

"For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."

For all that God had given to Solomon, his story ends with him being a long ways from God, worshipping everything but God. 

There is a character in the Bible that I do identify with, although I suspect that the quiz didn't include many of the lesser-known people found in the Bible's storyline.  He is a man who speaks but six words.  Luke 18:13 says,

"But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’"

A man who knows the distance between God and himself.  A man who knows that his sin against God lies in that distance.  A man who knows that God is a God rich in mercy, and who will lavish His mercy on all who turn from their sin and seek Him.

When it comes to the characters of the Bible, I am the tax collector coming to God, seeking His mercy.  Who are you?

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.