Wednesday, June 24, 2009

2 Samuel 9

I've always liked this little bit about Mephibosheth. I have always pronounced it with the emphasis on the phib but recently I heard a guy on the radio say it with the emphasis on the bo. That makes more sense since his uncle who tried to be king before David was Ish-bosheth and I do say it with bo. But that has nothing to do with the point of this chapter.

Being crippled back then wasn't like it is today. Not that being handicapped is nice at all, but at least now there are wheelchairs and accessibility laws and other perks. Back then, you were an outcast and were likely treated as if your disability was your fault. In Mephibosheth's case, it was a result of a tragedy. When the news came that his father and grandfather were killed in battle, His nanny fell while she was carrying him. Running for her life and trying to save his. That stinks.

So the touching part to me is a king with a heart that would reach out to this stranger. Not just set him up with servants and land, but took him into his home to eat at his own table. Our kind of compassion so often looks like a check made out to charity. Or in my case, an automatic draft from my account and letter-writing every other month. But to bring someone into my own home? That's a whole 'nother level. But that's the man God said had a heart that beat like His. That's the kind of compassion I want to demonstrate to a world that needs to see Jesus.

1 comments:

Bea said...

Yes, me too. I want to reflect Jesus in all I do, and certainly that means being servant of all. (Even at 3:30 AM?) The reason I am awake at this hour is my phone rang from a total stranger who wanted to tell her story of abuse. At 3:30 in the morning I am not very coherent, much less compassionate. She said, "Why did you answer the phone?"---to which I replied--in case there was an emergency. She hung up. Not sure what all that was about, but from yesterday's blog, Romans 8:28 tells me it will work for my good. As I meditated on was my response like Jesus, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I started my day, which would have started at 5AM anyway for boot camp. So, I guess I will thank God for waking up, pray the girl finds peace, and trudge on with the details of the day. I know it is summer and school is out, but things have not slowed down around here, so the extra time will be a blessing.