He was lied about.
He was lied to.
He was left behind.
Yet, Mephibosheth didn’t take the sourpuss route.
He didn’t take the resentment route when, in the world’s eyes, he had every right to do so.
Mephibosheth simply rejoiced at the opportunity to be in the presence of his king and didn’t care that he would take a big financial hit because of the crooked behavior of another.
What mattered most to him was fellowship with the king and conflict with others over “stuff” would not be allowed to get in the way.
It’s a fascinating story to read about Mephibosheth and the history of his relationship with King David. I encourage you to do an Internet search of his name and read the accounts so that you’ll know more about his life.
This morning, though, I simply want to encourage you to join me in appreciating his passion for his king.
There is a powerful lesson for each of us in how we should prioritize the place in our lives of our King, Jesus Christ.
In 2 Samuel 19, there is an account of King David’s return to Israel after his son Absalom’s short-term revolt had driven David out of the nation.
There is much more of a back story to the passage below but you’ll get the main idea from Mephibosheth’s words:
“Now Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, came down from Jerusalem to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem.
“Why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?” the king asked him.
“Mephibosheth replied, ‘My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey so I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am crippled. Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best. All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?”
“You’ve said enough,” David replied. “I’ve decided that you and Ziba will divide your land equally between you.”
“Give him all of it,” Mephibosheth said. “I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!” (2 Samuel; 19:24-30)
Wow. Mephibosheth had every reason in the book to resent Ziba and press for severe punishment because of the greedy deception.
Not only had Ziba selfishly placed Mephibosheth’s life at risk during the earlier revolt, the servant had abandoned him and lied to the king.
The moment was ripe for payback time when David found out the truth.
Mephibosheth didn’t care about the wealth of the land holdings, though.
He didn’t want to go down a stressful road of arguing and wrangling with Ziba and the king over all the wrongs done to him and how he had a right to the land and why didn’t David punish the scoundrel Ziba, etc., etc., etc.
Mephibosheth just wanted fellowship with the king.
When somebody rips us off and lies about it to others — whether over money or over status or over a relationship — do we allow resentment to overwhelm our desire for a healthy relationship with Christ?
Does the refusal to forgive create a wall between us and the Forgiving Messiah?
Jesus gave up the infinite glory and riches of heaven just so He could bring us safely to heaven to be with His Father forever.
Let’s reject the temptation to let our peace with Christ to be disrupted by fighting over money or past dirty deeds against us.
If we have Jesus, we have all we really need.
Matthew 6:33 promises so.
As always, I love you
Martin
Thank you for this morning devotion. I echo your closing comment that if we have Jesus, we have ALL WE NEED. Thank you for the reminder. May we followers of Christ set our path right and be mindful of His compassion, His mercy, His slow to anger, and His unfailing Love for the world . In turn, with the Holy Spirit living inside us, we can practice all four. Thanks you again, Martin.
Lorene