Sometimes people drop us. Friends let us down, family members hurt us in ways they may not even realize. We are often reflections of the people and circumstances that surround us, leaving us to choose whether we will be defined by the world surrounding us or by the Lord's definition of us as his children.
The story of Mephibosheth paraphrased:
At the time that King Saul and Jonathan were both killed in battle, there was a 5-year-old boy in the picture, Jonathan's son, named Mephibosheth. When news came that they had been killed and David was crowned the new king, Mephibosheth's nurse panicked (it was the unfortunate custom in that time for a new king to exterminate any remaining in the household of the old king to prevent future uprising or revolt). Not knowing the heart of David, she hastily grabbed the boy in fear for her life and Mephibosheth's and accidentally dropped him, damaging his little feet and causing them to be crippled for life (2 Samuel 4:4). He remained hidden and separated from anyone he knew for years and years in fear and loneliness. Until King David found out he was alive and requested to see him.
Pause here.
For years, Mephibosheth has been alone and in hiding. He had been enduring a life-long struggle of handicap because of the way that someone else dropped him as a child.
I can't help but wonder how much anger and bitterness Mephibosheth must have had toward his circumstances, and even toward the nurse that caused this crippling damage. His family is gone, he has been labeled as lame, and fear lurks around every corner.
Continuing the story:
Since he was crippled, Mephibosheth was carried to David's palace with fear still overcoming him. David responded by telling him that he wanted to honor the son of his best friend, Jonathan. He wanted to treat Mephibosheth like one of his own sons, and invited him to live with them in the palace and to eat at the King's table. Considering himself the lowest of the low, Mephibosheth asked, "Why should you notice a dead dog like me?" Blown away by this gift of acceptance and restoration, Mephibosheth became a part of King David's household and experienced family, peace, acceptance and provision.
The Bigger Picture
As Pastor Randy mentioned in his message, Mephibosheth's life is an example of the way the Lord seeks us and calls us out of our hiding places to claim our identity as children at His table. It's a unique story of a man's life that encompasses the full picture of the story of salvation: that because of initial sin, humanity was crippled, torn and broken and in need of the kindness of a savior. David's action of calling Mephibosheth to his palace table represents the Lord's calling of each of us to be with him, regardless of how our lives have turned out or what we have suffered through. It's a grace bestowed upon us that we cannot earn, but are gifted with.
But what about the more personal picture? The human side—the raw side?
While Mephibosheth's narrative points us to a bigger picture, how do we connect with and understand his humanness in this situation? These are a few questions we addressed together as a worship team:
Has there ever been anyone in the past that has "dropped" you, in a literal way or a situational way?
Can you recognize any people in your life that have caused you to live with an unhealthy or untrue identity?
Have you been able to forgive these people, whether or not they are aware of it?
How do we recognize and surrender the areas in which we are crippled in order to accept the grace and invitation from Jesus to come be in his family? How do we stop viewing ourselves as the lame, the broken, the "dead dog" and start claiming our place at Jesus' table?
Mephibosheth was called out of his hiding, out of his loneliness.
He had to be called out of his potential anger and bitterness.
He had to accept help by being carried—a humbling experience—in order to be with the king.
He had to move past his identity as being a lame and crippled man in order to accept his new identity as a part of the King's family.
We can learn a lot from this little boy's story of being dropped. We've got a lot of digging to do in life in order to understand how we are the way we are, why we think about ourselves the way we do, and how we can understand the Lord's identity for us. The King of Kings wants to bestow upon us the same grace that King David showed to Mephibosheth and invite us to eat at his table.
Take some time to listen to the song "Carried to the Table" that we sang yesterday in preparation for communion: Carried to the Table.
Thanks for reading,
Jamie
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