Kindness of God

"David asked,

'Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul

to whom I can show kindness for Jonathon's sake?' 

. . .And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, 

because he always 

ate at the king's table,

and he was crippled in both feet."

2 Samuel 9:1 & 13

Her heart raced as she heard the news of the king's death.  

I must find safety for the boy!  she thought.  Surely they will come after him, too.  

The sound of her heartbeat drowned out all other noises, even the thudding of her footsteps as she hurried along the hall, bearing the burden of the 5-year-old successor to the throne.  

I must get him to safety. 

Suddenly, her grip loosened on the heir and she dropped her precious load.  He tumbled to the floor in a shriek of pain, landing in a heap on the ground.

"Get up!" she hissed.  "They're coming!"

But he couldn't get up.  His feet would never be the same.  He was crippled for life.

Mephibosheth is not unlike me.  I carry the burden of a history filled with hurts, sins and failures.  Transgressions from my past haunt my present.  I am broken. . . damaged. . . . crippled. 

But I am not without hope.  Like Mephibosheth, I once was the daughter of a King.  I once lived in glory.  I was meant for greatness.  Then the devastation of sin hampered my existence in paradise, sending me into hiding, leaving me to rot in an unpleasant place until the King summons me.

David had made a promise to his buddy, Jonathon, the son of his enemy and King of Israel, Saul.  David vowed to always show kindness to the family of his friend.  This promise compelled him to look for someone to whom he could show mercy, even though this meant inviting the family of his enemy to live in his home and eat at his table.

It is not so different with me.  I am the enemy of God because of my sin.  Because of a promise made thousands of years ago, however, Jesus sought me out, looking for those to whom He was called to show mercy.  


The kindness of God has been made known to me. 

Recovered

A desolate place.  A position of suffering.  A lonely spot.  An empty hole.  An arid area.

Wherever I am right now, whatever place I have retreated to in shame, or out of a sense of self-preservation, or in fear. . . God will recover me. 

Mephibosheth was hiding out in a place called Lo Debar, which literally means "without pasture".   He was finding refuge in a lowly place, void of resources or fruits.  Lo Debar was not the kind of place you lived by choice.  Since Mephibosheth rightly assumed that the king was his enemy due to his grandfather's jealous anger toward David, he spent his days hidden away from the life the son of a king was expected to live.  He was in a kind of exile.

Many times I hide from the King, afraid that He won't accept me as His own.  I sense my own unworthiness and fear His rightful wrath.  But because of the great sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, He took away my shame, my guilt, my punishment.  I am no longer held responsible for my sin, but am retrieved from that place of exile.  

Like a prisoner of war recovered through an undercover mission by a Special Forces team, Jesus has plucked me from the bondage of sin. 

The kindness of God is shown to me through my rescue from the slavery of sin.

Repaired

I suffered from the sensitivity and ache of a cracked tooth for several months until the pain became unbearable.  At that point I couldn't even drink room temperature water without a shot of searing pain shooting through my mouth.  I needed to spend the money to get it repaired.

The costly cap solved the problem and now I can eat virtually problem free.  My tooth has been repaired.  In the same way, my relationship with God is severed.  Without God, I cannot function as He created me to live.  I am made for God.

Living my life apart from God means life is just a series of meaningless and unrelated events.  It is filled with pain that exists for the mere reason of inflicting suffering upon me.  There is no plan and it's entirely up to me to make something of my life.  If I don't succeed, I'm a failure.  Life apart from God is pretty bleak and hopeless.

Sin made it impossible for me to enter into a relationship with a Holy God.  He is unable to abide with the disobedience of my nature.  Since He loves me despite my sin, He sent Jesus to rectify our relationship.  Jesus took the punishment for my sin, making a way for me to become a part of God's family through faith.  My relationship with God is repaired.

In the same way that King David repaired the relationship between him and Saul's kin by forgiving the past and accepting Mephibosheth as a part of the family, the King of kings mended my relationship with God.  

The kindness of God is revealed to me by faith in Jesus through the healing of a broken relationship between me and my Creator.

Restored

When I married my husband, I inherited an entire houseful of furniture.  Among the pieces was a  heavy oak dining room table with a veneer surface.  It looked nice until years of sticky hands and messy meals worked to flake away the finish.  I grew to loathe that table, choosing to cover it with a cloth to hide the peeling veneer.

When we made our last move, I decided to see if I could refinish the table.  If it didn't work, I planned to get rid of it once and for all.  After days of sanding, scouring and staining, I ended up with a beautiful, durable finish that we enjoy to this day.  It's original luster had been resorted and it was like a new addition to our dining room.  

Likewise, God is all about restoration.  The Lord does not look at my sinfulness and simply throw me into the burn pile as so much rubbish.   He is a God who takes scuffed-up, broken, messy people and makes them new.   As He said to His people who were exiled to a foreign land, "I will restore you to health and heal your wounds." Jeremiah 30:17 

When David invited Mephibosheth to eat at the kings table from that point on, he was doing more than being a gracious host.  This declaration was an act of restoring the exiled son to his place at the king's table.  As a crippled young man, he was invited to eat in the special place of honor despite his frailty.

In the same way,  I am invited to dine at the King's table as a member of the royal family despite my infirmities and weaknesses.  I am there at the request of the King, not due to my own worthiness or fitness. In Christ, I am like new.  I can see things from a godly perspective instead of a worldly perspective.  I am able to love others instead of fearing their lack of acceptance.  I cease merely existing and instead live an abundant life.  

The kindness of God is made known to me in the way He restores my brokenness and makes me new.

David was concerned about fulfilling a promise he had made to Jonathon and looked for a way to show kindness to his family.  In the same way, God made a promise thousands of years ago to bless all peoples through Abraham.  In sending Jesus to die on the cross in order to recover me, repair my broken relationship with God, and restore my place in the Kingdom of God, that promise is fulfilled.  

The kindness of God that leads to my repentance was shown at Calvary, 

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will remember the kindness of God.

How do I fail to recognize the way God has restored me but instead continue to live in my old ways?

Do I take advantage of my repaired relationship with God by meeting with Him regularly?