If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a
foe were raising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my
companion, my close friend (Psalm
55:12,13).
One can feel the sense of betrayal in this psalm of David.
In his song Why?, Michael
Card makes the observation: Only a friend can betray a friend / A stranger
has nothing to gain / And only a friend comes close enough / To ever cause so
much pain [8].
According to William Shakespeare, it was Julius Caesar who
asked, “Et tu Brute?” [9]. It’s only
with our friends – people whom we love and who are supposed to love us – that
we are this vulnerable. Letting one’s guard down sets us up for heartache. But
that’s not the end of the story. That vulnerability (and the trust it fosters)
is the essence of relationship. We cannot experience love without taking the risk
that we might get hurt.
God himself has experienced that hurt. Jesus was betrayed by
both Judas and Peter. And how many times has God been betrayed by me? How many
times should God have been able to count on my commitment, only to catch a
glimpse of my back as I walked away?
But then love isn’t love if it’s on a leash… unless of
course you’re taking your Beagle for a walk.
When were you last betrayed? When were you last the
betrayer?
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Is there a betrayal which
needs your forgiveness? Is there a betrayal for which you need forgiven?
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