Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
Consider the life and death of Absalom.
He was David’s third son and possibly his favorite of his older group of sons. He inherited David’s good looks—and other less admirable attributions. Angered by the rape of his sister by one of their half-brothers, Absalom waited two years, then killed the half-brother. Three years in self-imposed exile followed before David welcomed him back home. When he did, things went from bad to worse, with Absalom leading a revolt against his father that seemed headed for success, until a particular battle in which David’s forces prevailed. Then that gorgeous long hair of Absalom’s resulted in his doom. It got tangled in a tree as he rode underneath it, and David’s commander, despite specific orders to take the young man alive, killed him.
David’s mournful cry when he hears the news touches our hearts and souls. It’s 
the pain of a parent who deeply loves the child, regardless of all the treachery and conniving that came between them. It’s about loss that can never be regained, loss that never had to happen.
Yes, consider the life and death of Absalom. And consider how our own treachery and conniving, even on a smaller scale, grieves God.
There’s one important difference.
We can stop the grief today by stopping the actions that offend Him. We can love instead of hate, embrace instead of shun, accept instead of rejection. If we can’t do it for ourselves, let’s do it for Him.
