As a teenager, what kind of disagreements did you have with your parents? How did you deal with the issue? Avoidance, a verbal fight, sulking or a reasonable discussion to reach an agreement satisfactory to you and your parents?
King David and his son, Absalom, were estranged for several years. Neither would make the first move to re-establish their relationship until the woman from Tekoa challenged David to make things right. As the father, David needed to make the first move of forgiveness and reconciliation.
God is primarily a God of grace rather than a God of harsh, unbending justice and wrath. In what area of your life do you need to work on healing old hurts? Does your spirit long for reconciliation with someone? What is keeping you from that reconciliation? Your own stubbornness. The need for a mediator? Fear that the person is not receptive to your desire to make things right. What kind of person are you? One who holds grudges or one who offers forgiveness?
When we ask, God gives us the wisdom to know how to heal our hurts and estrangements through forgiveness and reconciliation.
Millie H. Griswold, Dowling Park, Fla.
Extended Scripture: 2 Samuel 13–14
