May the mumbling commence!
Does the love of enemies preclude the love of those who love you? Is it an either-or OR a both-and proposition? Read from 2 Samuel 19:1-8a –
Joab was told, "The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom." And for the whole army the victory that day was turned into mourning, because on that day the troops heard it said, "The king is grieving for his son." The men stole into the city that day as men steal in who are ashamed when they flee from battle. The king covered his face and cried aloud, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!"
Then Joab went into the house to the king and said, "Today you have humiliated all your men, who have just saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines. You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you. I see that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead. Now go out and encourage your men. I swear by the Lord that if you don't go out, not a man will be left with you by nightfall. This will be worse for you than all the calamities that have come upon you from your youth till now."
So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. When the men were told, "The king is sitting in the gateway," they all came before him.
King David grieved for the death of his son, even though Absalom betrayed him. And David’s men knew that his wishes were ignored by Joab – David’s wishes that they be gentle with Absalom. David’s men were ashamed to enter the city, as if they had failed and fled from battle.
Joab confronted David. These men, who have saved the lives of your family, are humiliated because of your show of public grief. Joab asked David two veiled questions. Do you love those who hate you more than you love those who love you? And would you be better pleased if all the men of his army were dead and Absalom was alive? Then Joab made a statement. Encourage these men or they will all desert you.
Joab seemed to be arguing that the death of the king’s son Absalom was necessary to save the lives of many people. It is better that your son dies than the whole nation should perish. Could this time in David’s life be foreshadowing the sacrifice that the Lord made with his Son, Jesus? Maybe it does – in a fallen sort of way. Unlike Jesus, Absalom was sinful.
David took Joab’s advice. David muted the grief for his son and made himself available to the men in a positive way.
Should we then make the conclusion that loving enemies means that we cannot fully return the love of the ones who love us? I think not. I am sure, even as David welcomed home the troops, that David was still grieving for the loss of his son, Absalom, in his heart. Love is not a feeling. Love is a choice. And sometimes those choices are difficult. But love being a choice does not mean that we choose between different parties. It means that we choose to love all people around us.
So, for example, it is not treasonous in the eyes of Christ to mourn the death of the human life of Osama bin Laden. Love for an enemy of the United States is not treasonous; it is a command of the Lord Jesus. We are called to mourn Osama’s death as much as we mourned the deaths of those who perished on September 11, 2001. The violent end of human life is never right to celebrate.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
No comments:
Post a Comment