Friday, October 21, 2011

God Restores Us

Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” -- 2 Samuel 9:8

Mephibosheth was Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. David finally had it all. His kingdom. His palace. Riches. Fame. But he was lonely. He missed his best friend. So he found Jonathan’s son.

This son was crippled in both feet. Back then physical imperfections were a cause for humiliation. Scorn even. We still see that around us, don’t we? We look down on people who don’t fit our idea of normal. We think less of them, like maybe they’re not as smart, not as capable, not as worthy as we are.

Mephibosheth didn’t have any prospects for a good life. He was a prince’s son but his father, grandfather and uncles had been killed. Murdered. And now David sat on their throne. God’s anointed. God’s chosen one. What could David possibly want with a broken man?

Sometimes I know a little about how he must have felt. I wonder what God could possibly want with someone like me? Broken. Not reaching society’s normal levels of acceptance and value. Constantly being kicked down for valuing things the world scorns.

David wasn’t interested in how others saw Mephibosheth. The king saw his friend’s son and he was determined to show him kindness and restore his fortune. “Don’t be afraid,” David told Mephibosheth. David restored Saul’s lands to his grandson and he invited Mephibosheth to eat at the King’s table for the rest of his life. Certainly, not what Mephibosheth was expecting when David summoned him to the palace.

Beth Moore, who loves language and words, tells us that Mephibosheth means “shame destroyer” or “image breaker.” David took away Mephibosheth’s shame and restored him. Can you imagine how astonished those around him felt when they saw King David show kindness to someone they had rejected?

That’s how God shows kindness to us. He lifts us up and restores us, no matter where we’ve been or what we’ve done. He loves us and invites us to His table. It’s not so much about being worthy as it is about being loved. God loves us. He calls us His. He restores us to His kingdom, no matter our sin and no matter our shame.

We are all sinners. We have all fallen short of the Glory of God. We are all unworthy. We are all less than what He meant for us to be. And, yet, He has shown us kindness and love. He has offered forgiveness and the blood of His Son. He restores those who come to Him, who reach out to Him, who kneel down before Him and call Him LORD.