To Bring Us Back

Reading: 2 Samuel 14-15; Matthew 24 All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. That is why God tries to bring us back when we have been separated from him. He does not sweep away the lives of those he cares about—and neither should you! (2 Samuel 14:14 NLT) When David finished grieving over the death of his son Amnon, he longed to be reunited with Absalom. But because David refused to initiate reconciliation, Joab hired the wise woman of Tekoa to come and tell the king a story about her two sons. David saw through Joab’s plan, but responded anyhow and relented—mostly. What really got my attention as I read this today is this statement by the wise woman of Tekoa to King David. She said, “All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. That is why God tries to bring us back when we have been separated from him. He does not sweep away the lives of those he cares about—and neither should you!” Life Lessons:
• Life is short—death is certain! (The mortality rate is running right at 100%!)
• Every day we spend is like water poured out on the ground. Each day we allow a damaged relationship to limp along with unhealed wounds and scares is a day without the joy and peace that a right and healthy relationship gives.
• God loves us and reaches out to bring us back into right relationship when we have been separated from him.
• We also can do that with family, friends, and others when relationships get damaged. Prayer: Father, Please help me to value my relationships with others the way you value your relationship with me. Help me to take the initiative and make the effort to “bring them back” when something happens to damage or weaken the relationship. Sometimes it just seems too hard to make the effort. Please help me see it the way you see it. I want to be a restorer of relationships. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.