“O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!” 2 Samuel 18:33b (NKJV)
Many of my friends have lost children over the years. Just a few weeks ago, an automobile accident claimed the life of my husband’s nephew at the age of twenty five. Who could have guessed his teenage years were the twilight of his life? Who can fathom a parent’s anguish—preparing their child for a funeral instead of a future? David voiced his own grief, crying out the wish to take Absalom’s place.
God knows the anguish of losing a Son. In the fullness of time, God sent His Son to redeem us (Galatians 4:3-5). Jesus gave His life so we could live. His times, thirty three years, were in His Father’s hands.
Time is fleeting; life, fragile. Our times are in God’s hands, too (Psalm 31:15). The youth may approach death’s door, while the elderly may see the Lord’s return. We struggle, watching loved ones decline, grieving when they are gone. We weep at children’s gravesides, young lives cut short. Death seems so unfair.
But Jesus rose again, victorious over death and the grave. From His sacrifice sprang true, glorious, everlasting life. And again, in the fullness of time, God will bring unity to all things—in heaven and on earth—under Christ (Ephesians 1:9-11). In the end, God will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain—those things will have passed away (Revelation 21:4). Praise the Lord! Our times are in God’s almighty hands.
Lord, you took our place, and conquered death. We trust that you hold us, and those we love, in your loving, nail scarred hands.
© 2013 Katherine A. Fuller
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