The Past Explains, But Does Not Excuse, The Present

“And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name [was] Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.” (2Sa 14:27 AV)

I am sure there are scoffers who love this verse.  In chapter 18, we learn that Absalom erected a pillar because he had no heir.  At the time of his death, he was childless.  I am sure there are plenty of voices that would declare God’s word has a mistake.  But alas, they would be wrong.  The Bible never tells us that Absalom was childless his entire life.  The Bible does tell us that at the time the pillar was erected, he was childless.  Therefore, any honest commentator would aptly point out Absalom’s children must have died young and, therefore, Absalom was moved to erect a pillar to his name.  There are plenty of honest Bible students who do just that.  But what does this have to do with our daily devotions?  I couldn’t help but wonder if the loss of his four children at an early age had anything to do with his rebellion against his father.  There is not evidence to that fact, but losing one’s family has to affect a person.  Significant loss can change a person.  This might also be a cause why he sought justice for his sister.  She may have been the only family he had.

I learned a tremendous lesson recently.  The LORD provided the means by which Lisa and I could visit my son in Brazil.  It was a glorious trip.  We met some fantastic people.  It is always a wonder to me how our relationship with Christ spans cultures and languages.  Having Christ as our common denominator is a miracle that I would suggest any and all who could go on a mission’s trip do so.  Anyway, we were talking one morning about man-problems.  I won’t belabor you with the details, but the crux of the matter was to what I attributed my concerns.  I always thought that my situation was not as unique as it might seem.  I attributed it to things of my past.  Things that I knew my son had never experienced.  Trauma of the past seemed to be the peg on which I hung most of my concerns.  Most of my shortcomings were seen through the lens of this hardship.  Then my son opened up and stated he suffered the same concerns.  This is where I was puzzled.  He said he felt the same things and thought the same thoughts.  Again, he did not suffer the experiences I had, so I was confused.  Now, he would admit that perhaps my feelings and thoughts were far more severe than his.  We shared these thoughts and feelings, but not to the same degree.  This was an eye-opener for me.  Before this conversation, I felt there was no escaping this trauma.  I thought for sure, I was destined to suffer until glory was my place.  Now, I know that what I suffered with was common among all men and even though my suffering in this area might have been magnified by my past, it wasn’t hopelessly so.

I shared all this because Absalom’s rebellion is common among all men.  To one degree or another, we are all rebels.  What made the difference is that Absalom’s trauma magnified his faults.  He allowed hardship and trouble to affect him to a degree that he lost his life.  We all suffer hard things.  No one is immune.  Although my sons did not have to suffer in ways I did, they still had hard times.  Some of those times I never suffered.  Two of my three sons were gravely ill while on a mission’s trips.  I cannot imagine what it would be like to be very sick yet thousands or tens of thousands of miles away from Mom and Dad.  My youngest was in a hard school for someone like him.  He moved away from friends in his senior year of high school and attended two separate high schools.  We all go through hard times.  It is how we allow them to affect us that mattered.  Absalom used the loss of his family and the abuse of his sister to motivate him to insurrection.  Others, like Moses and Abraham, used trauma to become stronger and closer to God.  Paul lists a plethora of abuses he suffered.  Yet, not one turned him against the LORD.  They all strengthened him and gave him increasing resolve to love the LORD, grow in Christlikeness, and serve Him faithfully until his death.  We will all suffer tragedy.  What we decide to do with it makes all the difference.