The last couple days I've been doing a study that has focused on a story in the old Testament. I don't remember reading it, and am surprised I have never heard it preached or talked about. It is about the love and mercy which King David showed to a poor crippled man named Mephibosheth. It has really touched my heart and is such a beautiful story.
2 Samuel 9:
Before David became King, he was in a fight for his life with the previous King, Saul. Saul was the king who started out well but then turned away from the Lord. He not only stopped following the Lord, but he plotted to get rid of David, the Lord’s anointed king. Thus there was alienation and enmity between David and the dynasty of Saul. As a member of the deposed house of Saul, Mephibosheth deserved nothing from King David.
However, David had been best friends with Jonathan, Mephibosheths' father and Saul's son. Jonathan had died some years prior, and David decided he wanted to honor him, and asked his servant to find out if Jonathan had any children.
He was told yes, but he is crippled in both feet. Back then it was very shameful to have any kind of physical handicap. But David did not care. He had him sent for and brought to his palace and pretty much adopted him as one of his own sons. He gave to him land that had belonged to Saul and people to work it. He told him he would eat at his table all the rest of his days. When Mephibosheth was first brought before David he fell before him in fear, I'm sure in a million years he didn't think he had been brought there just because the King wanted to be a blessing to him.
"Don't be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."
Can you imagine the joy and gratitude when this guy found out why he was there?
This story does two things for me. First it makes me grateful for God's great love and mercy for us. Though in comparison to his greatness we are little broken imperfect people, He chooses to seek us out and love us and invite us to eat at his table all the days of this life and beyond.
He takes us as we are and loves us and gives all that he is to us. I am so grateful to be like Mephibosheth. And we all are like him! We are all invited to live each day with the mercy and company of God in our lives. That doesn't mean that life will be perfect. Mephibosheth still had crippled feet. But how much better was his life lived with the help and the company of the King?!
Secondly this story inspires me even more to want to reach out to others. It makes me want to have a heart like King David. David at times was one of the very worst of sinners, but none of us are perfect, and not one person in the bible besides Jesus was perfect.
But David loved God with all his heart.
And you see that manifested in him in that he just seeks out ways to bless other people, even though he was a great King. He wanted to use all that God had given him to do good for others, not just himself and his household.
Of course we probably can't do this in as grand a way as David, but we can do it in whatever way we are able. And we all are able in some way. Just showing concern for a sad hurting person could make all the difference in the world.
And many times we are able to do even more if we use what God has gifted us with.
Seek to be a blessing today, and thank God for how you have been Blessed!
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