Oh Absalom (2)

Part 2

Hello! Check out the previous part here  if you haven't 😉 

 wait, did I just read that well? You encouraged her, telling her, 

“…Has Amnon your brother been with you? Now, HOLD YOUR PEACE my sister; he is your brother; DO NOT TAKE THIS TO HEART” (2 Sam 13: 20) 

That was a wonderful advice, especially coming from someone in the Old testament where you’d hear of characters who would call down fire on their enemies or destroy a whole city. I would have commended your reaction; it would have a been a massive example of how we should learn to forgive people no matter how high the wrong may have been. Isn’t that how God loved us and forgave us in advance, even while we were still sinners? 

“For when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:6-8)

But no, Absalom, you only gave the advice, you didn’t take to it. You only told Tamar to hold her peace, while yours was greatly disturbed. You only told her not to take it to heart, but you etched and permanently engraved it on yours.  Your heart sank at the news, your inner peace turned into turmoil as the floodgates of pain and hurt washed over you. You thought, “It shouldn’t have been Tamar. No, it shouldn’t have been Amnon, we grew up together. Went to school in Hebron together, did business together. I mean, we all looked up to him as the future king. Why?”

It is the same for many of us as well. He was a close confidant; she was a trusted friend. We thought we could leave our daughter with him, we thought we could leave our hearts with them. We gave them our trust, but they broke it. They shattered our heart into a billion pieces and we never recovered from the impact. We did business together and worked together for years. But in an instant, it all vanished into thin air. How could they do that to us? And so we decided to never forgive them. Not in this world, not in the world to come!

It was so with Absalom too. Being hurt and wronged is enough pain. But the pain seems deeper and the sword sharper when stabbed from a friend or a family member, someone you so respected and gave your all- Faithful service, loyal friendship, caring love. No one could persuade you otherwise to let go. Las las, you would say, I can forgive o, but I can never forget.

Dear brother, dear sister, may I tell you this day to forgive such persons. I know bringing the issue up right now has brought up pain again at the remembrance of the wrong. But I’m telling you this day that you have to forgive such a person. No matter the height of what has been done by such people, you can and should forgive them. You can let go and not let that beast control you. 

Anger is a beast that cannot be tamed once let out. And unforgiveness is the seed that breeds the ground for anger. You would need to forgive such people because releasing such folks from your heart ensures your own personal peace of mind. It closes the tunnels of painful wrath that can continue to grow unwatched in your mind against the offender. They may be a person or two, or even some brethren at the church, an unbeliever neighbor, a whole family or many persons who came together to deceitfully plan against you. But beloved, you need to forgive. 

“Let all bitterness, and WRATH, and ANGER, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, TENDERHEARTED, FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER, EVEN AS GOD FOR CHRISTS SAKE HAS FORGIVEN YOU. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children. And WALK IN LOVE, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.” (Eph 4: 31-32; 5:1-2)

Forgive them, release and let go. Let God take care of the hurt and pain. Let him soothe and comfort you. He offers new beginnings for seemingly closed chapters. He restores sevenfold what has been lost and gives even better by far, above worldly standards. You do not have to remain desolate like Tamar, sulking in your pitiable condition forever, you can rise above it and become a blessing to many others in your condition.

He understands the weight of what those people did to you. Why? His own very creation, whom He had good plans for, rejected Him and rebelled against Him. Misusing the gift of freewill He gave them, they choose to rule and live their own way, away from His love and care. Still, He never stopped loving. He came down to their own very level, became human like them. Lived with them, felt pain and discomfort just like them. He suffered betrayal and denial from two of His best friends. After that, He went through a painful and excruciating death on the cross for the sake of the world He loved, killed by the very same people He came to save. Still, he kept loving. He rose again and offered them a new life. God Himself, went through this all, but still loved and forgave us all. Even those who still refuse his love enjoy his creation till date, the sun shines on all, rain likewise, food grows for everyone and life as well. 

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, to the forbearance of God.” (Rom 3: 23-25)

“In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” (I John 4:9-11)

So you can forgive as well. Even now that you have accepted his love and sacrifice for you. What he did was that he gave you that same ability. His own Spirit of love was what he shed and put in your heart. So you can love as he loved, you can forgive even as he forgave. You are a product of God’s love, so you can share the same with others, no matter how high the wrongs they have committed. With man, this is impossible, but you are now with God, this therefore is not impossible for you. You only need to decide to let go. Forgive and forget. It is what you can do, his spirit helping you. I pray with you this day as I write this, that the love of God radiates your heart and helps you to let go of all the wrong that has been done against you. To forgive all those people and not hold it against them. Amen.

“And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Rom 5: 5-9)

Back to Prince Absalom. King David obviously did not handle the matter well on his part. The bible tells us that he was very angry when he heard of what his Aremo had done to his beautiful daughter. Who wouldn’t be? It was a national disgrace all over the blogs and popular news media. Sadly, Daddy David was only angry, he didn’t say anything about the whole issue and let things slide. He probably thought the issue would die down and that would be the end of it. Man after Gods heart sir, you didn’t handle this one well. A war was brewing in your family, yet you were silent about it. Or did you think that silence means consent? Oops.

To be continued...