Tuesday, May 6, 2014

2 Samuel 14: Not Estranged Forever

Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.  - 2 Sam. 14:14 NIV.

Estrangement is a terrible thing...to be cut off from one you once loved or still love, to have a mountain of misunderstanding, a gulf of careless, inconsiderate actions, separating you from the one you long for.  Someone must make the first move to bridge the great divide, but usually both parties suffer in silence, anger, and recriminations, waiting for the other to bend first.  Such is not the case with God.  He does not harbor resentment for our actions against him.  Rather, he seeks us out, he still offers a relationship, he begs, he pleads, he cajoles us, he woos us as if we were his only love.  He arranges circumstances until we at last are forced to turn and look at him, where all we see is the face of love.  No matter what Absalom had done, David grieved for him until they were once more u tied.  The same is true of God.  He has infinite patience when it comes to waiting for us.  All the while, he will not be waiting silently, but will be arranging events so we will not be estranged from him forever.

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