II Samuel 14:14 "But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him." The context for this verse is King David's son, Absalom, had banished himself from his father after having David's other son, Amnon, murdered. David was willing to have Absalom back, but wasn't proactive about communicating this to Absalom. Here he is admonished to get with it. And, in so doing, he would be like God in character. God, so says the wise woman to David, is proactive. He is actively taking down walls, opening doors, communicating to his children, that He is willing, even wanting, to have them back. This should speak to us on a couple of levels. When a relationship rift occurs, it is often difficult to make the first move to repair it. However, if we are proactive, we are more like God. Second, we should avoid the tendency to assume people can figure out for themselves that God wants them back. One interesting aspect of this event is that the wise woman goes to David, not Absalom. God is devising, even scheming, how to get His invitation across. He likely wants us to be the invitation bearers. He may ask us to devise the ways to do this. Sometimes people have found the doorway back, but need someone to assist them through. Remember, Satan is trying to block the doorway. But surely God will honor the sincere effort to stamp out estrangement. Are you willing to devise ways to communicate His love?

A post from beanscot's husband also occupying this little house under the weeping willow tree.