I get a couple of devotionals in the mail daily and one that showed up today was by Woodrow Krull from "Lessons on Living".  The title is "Death of a Child".  The email says to pass it on, so I pasted the whole thing under the fold.

I saw that the parent of the child was David, so I was thinking that the child would have been the one by Bathsheba.

But the "child" is a grown up; Absalom.  The love of the father is a steadfast love that never falters, even in the face of betrayal.

The devotional starts:

The late Joe Bayly wrote about the death of the
young from firsthand experience. He lost three
children: one at 18 days, after surgery; another
at 5 years, with leukemia; the third at 18 years,
after a sledding accident complicated by mild
hemophilia. Joe said, "Of all deaths, that of a
child is most unnatural and hardest to bear." He
did not underestimate the grief of parents. "When
a child dies," he added,  "part of the parents is
buried."

Twenty-one years ago, the day before Thanksgiving, I discovered that I had "lost" a child.  Her twin had died early on and I had lost two other babies before, but this one hit me hard.  I know the pain of losing a child, although I had never met this one.

David lost two children.  One at birth, the other as an adult.

Woodrow tells us that God also knows the pain of watching a child die.  Even knowing that the resurrection was coming, what did God feel as He watched Christ die that death?

What do we feel, as move into this Christmas season?  Do we feel the excitement of the shopping, the decorating, the lights?

Do we remember that there truly is "a reason for the season"?  But in the end, that reason wasn't a baby in a manger - the reason for that first Christmas was a horrible death on a cross.

For us, for those who believe, this is the reason that Jesus came to dwell among men.

Daily devotions for 11-24-2006:

Title: Death of a Child
Devotion: Lessons On Living
Scripture References:
2 Samuel 15:1-18:18
2 Samuel 13:1-14
2 Samuel 14:23-29
Ezekiel 33:11
2 Samuel 18:33
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Title: Death of a Child

Author: Woodrow Kroll
2 Samuel 18:33
Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to
the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he
went, he said thus: "O my son Absalom—my son, my
son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O
Absalom my son, my son!"
Death of a Child
The late Joe Bayly wrote about the death of the
young from firsthand experience. He lost three
children: one at 18 days, after surgery; another
at 5 years, with leukemia; the third at 18 years,
after a sledding accident complicated by mild
hemophilia. Joe said, "Of all deaths, that of a
child is most unnatural and hardest to bear." He
did not underestimate the grief of parents. "When
a child dies," he added,  "part of the parents is
buried."

David knew that experience. He had watched his
young son Absalom grow up, the boy with the long,
flowing hair. Perhaps he had been his favorite.
Absalom had certainly shown great promise as a
future leader, if not king, of Israel. Then came
the tragic incident with Absalom’s sister Tamar
and his half-brother Amnon (2 Sam. 13:1-14).

The young man turned bitter and eventually murdered
Amnon (14:23-29). Later he plotted a rebellion
against his father, which almost succeeded (2
Sam. 15:1-18:18). Yet despite all that, David
mourned his boy’s death as though he had been the
perfect son. The death of a child is a
catastrophic blow even if he has the heart of a
rebel.

God understands the pain every parent feels when
he or she loses a child. He Himself had to stand
apart and watch His beloved Son die on the cross.
He walked the same valley of deep sorrow as every
grieving parent. And God understands as well when
the one you sorrow for has been a wayward son or
daughter. Ezekiel 33:11 says, "‘As I live,’ says
the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of
the wicked.’" God grieves even when the wicked
die.

If you are grieving for a child today, take
comfort in God’s understanding. He will sustain
you through each surge of sorrow. His loving arms
will uphold you all along the way.
God is also a grieving parent.
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