King David-Part 4
The story of David continues and we discover that just like he wasn't perfect, neither was his family. One of the imperfect members is his son Absalom. Absalom was an ungrateful son who made plans to steal the throne from his father. Eventually they will meet in the battlefield. Even though Absalom was a traitor, David loved him like only a father can love a son in spite of his imperfections. He specifically told his men not to harm Absalom. But his command was ignored. As Absalom rode through the dense forest, his head was caught on the branches of a thick tree and his mule kept going, leaving him hanging from the tree. Some of David's soldiers came upon the young man as he helplessly hung there and they killed him.
When David heard that Absalom was dead, he weeped for him. He cried out in sorrow: "Oh my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" (2 Samuel 18:33). At that moment, the furthest thing from David's mind was that his son had been a traitor. He was in so much pain at having lost his son that he was willing to take his place.
There is nothing worst in the world than losing a child. I can't talk from personal experience but in recent years I've had to attend one too many funerals of young people whose lives have been cut short. And I have felt their parents' pain. Even if they are people of faith, who know their beloved child is with God in heaven, they still would have traded places with their child in a heartbeat. When a child dies, a part of the parent dies too. I always think of Mary at the foot of the cross. How much pain. How much suffering.
That is why David was crying. He would have died in Absalom's place. At that moment of sorrow, being a King did not matter. He would have happily given the throne to his son if he could only rewind the clock. But he had to surrender his son to God. Just like Mary had to surrender Jesus back to God. That is the most perfect act of love that a parent can exercise towards God. As Mary surrenders her son Jesus back to God, she acknowledges that Jesus was a gift to her from God. She finally accepts that Jesus never belonged to her in the first place. He always belonged to God but she was able to enjoy him for 33 years. Now she must go through the pain of a temporary physical separation but with the knowledge that soon they will be reunited in heaven.
David and Mary show us that the death of a loved one can become an act of love on our part which can lead us closer to God and closer to our loved one. The body dies but the soul lives on. We have full trust in God that they are very much alive. They now can love us and see us through God's eyes. That is why after we lose a loved one, even though we cannot see them, we can certainly feel them. Our lives are still very much intertwined. That is why we continue to have a spiritual relationship with them. They remain forever in our hearts, our memories, our prayers and our dreams.
Don't allow grieve to consume you. Rejoice because your loved one is very much alive!!!
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