Once
upon a time there was a King. Let’s call
him David.
He
had a best friend. Let's call him Jonathan.
They
were close – closer than close, for their brotherly love was of a kindred
spirit made in heaven, so to speak.
Jonathan
had a father. Let’s call him Saul. He once was King Saul, and one day King Saul
threw a spear at David and tried to pen him to the wall because of
jealousy.
Saul
and Jonathan died in battle one day.
David became King.
Soon
peace came upon the land. As was typical
in those days, the incoming King usually preempted any remaining family members
of the old regime. He threw them out,
cut off their inheritance, so to speak.
That was the way it was done in the olden days, or so they say.
But
David – King David was different. He had
a different kind of heart.
Because
of his great friendship and love for Jonathan, he inquired about any remaining
family members from Jonathan’s line.
Low
and behold a forgotten son still lived.
His name was Mephibosheth, a cripple boy, and a son of Jonathan.
You
see, when David became King, the existing family members fled for their lives
for fear of severe punishment from the incoming King. In their haste to escape, a nurse dropped
five-year-old Mephibosheth and he became crippled in both feet.
Well,
the King said to his servants, “Go and find this boy and bring him to me.”
And
so, it was. Mephibosheth was found and
brought to the palace. His fear was that
some evil might fall on his head.
But
wait … there’s more.
The
dinner bell rang in the palace.
King
David came in and sat at his appointed place.
Next
came members of his family and staff.
~Amnon–son of the King and the clever one
~Tamar–the gracious and beautiful lady
~Solomon–brilliant and preoccupied
~Absalom–son of the King with beautiful hair
~Joab–the courageous warrior
And had you been there that day, you would have heard this ...
Clop! Clop!
Clop!
The
shuffling of feet. The thud of
something solid hitting the floor in regular intervals.
And
finally … finally, coming into view they saw crippled Mephibosheth.
A
crippled boy, now a man, slowly making his way up to the King’s table.
You
see, David made a promise a long time ago to show favor to any of Jonathan’s family
that might still be alive when he, David, came into power.
Mephibosheth
was in fear when first summoned to the King’s table.
His
fear soon gave way to surprise and relief.
He was invited in, as a cherished guest, a loved one, because of the
King’s grace.
You
and I are Mephibosheth. We are crippled,
shackled by life in so many ways. And
yet we are invited to the King’s table every day.
“Come,
all who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens. I will give you rest.”
The
grace is flowing from the King’s table down to where you and I sit and
stand. We don’t deserve it. We think our crutches get in the way. We move at a snail’s pace. We don’t speak eloquently. We don’t dress eloquently. We are ashamed of the rags we wear. We wonder why we would ever receive such an
invitation.
And
yet it is offered. And we receive,
because of the graciousness of the King.
Hope Encouragement Inspiration
