Blessing the Hater

Scripture: Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. 2 Samuel 14:1

Observation: David always had a soft spot for Absalom ... a son who was violent, rebelled against David, killed his household, committed atrocities, disgraced the king several times in terrible ways, and eventually whom David had to kill to win back Israel. Through it all, David inexplicably loved Absalom.

Application: If David was a man after God's own heart, what can I learn from David's love for Absalom?

I see Absalom as a rebel against God - one whom, despite being the favored son of the first family of God's chosen people, is going to violently fight to overthrow that family and commit every sin in the book. He will do many of these things not for selfish desire, but actually to disgrace and display his contempt for David (and therefore God).

How is that like non believers today? Some are simply ambivalent, but many hate God, Jesus, and his church. They don't ignore God, they rebel. They hate and attack and sin not for their pleasure or just because they don't care, but they do so in order to lash out and harm God. Evil like ISIS falls into this category, but so do internet trolls who spew hate at Christians, and those who take up some "politically correct cause" by rampaging against Christianity.

David would ... love these people. He would miss them when they aren't at church. He would invite them over, seek to be near them, cry when they verbally lash out at him. He would lose his family and home to them, and mourn for them - not his family - over their lost souls. And only then would he - as a last resort - fight back and retake ground.

So, what phase is the church in now? Are we in the "let them attack, maybe we can win them back with our love" phase? Are we in the "we're getting killed so let's retreat and hide" phase? Are we in the "time to strike back" phase?

Most churches would like to say we're in the first phase ... most churches would say that is the ONLY option that actually exists for the Church of Jesus Christ. In that case, David is an example of how to try to reach others.

Prayer: Lord, Absalom was a curse upon David, but David tried to be a blessing back to him. May we somehow have that sort of strength in dealing with non-believers every day. Amen.