Good day dear friends. I stand amazed at what God does through our prayers. I thank God for your faithfulness and for the awesome, if not miraculous workings of God's Holy Spirit among us! The reports from our district among two spouses who have been battling cancer, are great! Thanks be to God! I urge you to also read today's Upper Room on giving thanks.
Our text for today comes from 2 Samuel 18: 5 The king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom." And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom. 6 So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. 7 The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword. 9 Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. 15 And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him. 31 Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, "Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you." 32 The king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" The Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man." 33 The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" (NRSV)
My grandmother, Petra Valverde, the only grandmother I knew, years ago gave me a copy of Kenneth N. Taylor, La Biblia en Cuadros para Niños (The Bible in Pictures for Children). Her handwriting is still on the front page and this and another gift, remind me of her love for God and her faith in Christ Jesus. The book sits on our coffee table in our living room and I await the day I can share some of its stories with my grandchildren. What has always impressed me about this book are the beautiful pictures of each story that the author relates in the book. One image that never has left me is the one of Absalom hanging from a tree. The biggest battle my Dad and I ever fought was the one regarding my hair. Some time ago, on the Facebook circuit, someone shared the "Official Hairstyles for Men and Boys" from the 1950s and I immediately shared it with my two brothers and we all laughed and remembered our days in the barber chair. We had a choice at least, flattop or GI. We usually chose the flat top because that left a fence of sorts around the front of our noggins. It was tough sporting that kind of haircut in the days of Elvis and later the moptops themselves, The Beatles. Absalom did not have that battle, but he did battle his father for the kingdom. He had reached a point where he believed he would better serve God and the people of Israel by being their king. Taylor says in his book, "But God did not want that." What stands out in the passage is the love of a father for his son. David orders his general, Joab, to deal gently with this rebel of the state, but once Joab's men find Absalom tangled from a tree, the son is quickly murdered and this word gets to the king. The king grieves and expresses the sentiment of all parents, "Would I have died instead of you."
Very few parents want to see even rebellious children suffer. You may have been there or you may be there now; your love for your child exceeds the pain they may have caused in your heart or life. Imagine how God feels about us and our lives and our choices for them. Can you realize how much God loved you to send His only begotten Son to die in your place? God was willing to pay that price. Of all the gods that humanity has known, the only god to sacrifice himself, is our God; thus is the love of God for you.
PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for Your love. I can only begin to imagine how much You love us; let me just enjoy it and let me enjoy it enough to spread it to others. Forgive me the days of my rebellion against You and against my earthly parents. And bless those who may be going through that challenge now in their lives. May love exceed pain. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
