Friday, June 18, 2004

Being a part of Royalty

Imagine sitting alone in a room far from the King's territory and being summoned to be a part of his family forever. This is what happened in Israel's history when Jonathan died and left his son, Mephibosheth, alone.
King David inquired of his servant, Ziba, if there was anyone that he could show kindness to . Ziba said there was Mephibosheth. Then arrangements were made to bring Mephibosheth to the King's house and made him part of the table where Mephibosheth ate with the King's household for the rest of his life.
This story illustrates acceptance by King David of someone less fortunate than himself and for the loyalty that he had since he was a close friend of Jonathan.
God does the same thing for us in that He adopted us into His family giving us a place of permanance and significance.
David also had the land of Saul restored from which the daily provisions of life would be cultivated from. Just as Psalm 23:1, the Lord is my shepherd;I shall not want. He prepares a table before the presence of his enemies.
This is exactly how as men we are to be with others=allowing ourselves to be strengthened by one another with the famous expression "iron sharpens iron." This is best done by accepting others with their limitations and incorporating them into the lives of others. Then we will become a fully mature family.