Crippled by Sin, Restored by God's
Kindness
Susan Thomas
Long Island MTC, NY
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3 The
king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom
I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There
remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”
7 David
said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for
the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the
land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my
table always.”
How many
of us are familiar with the story of this crippled young man named
Mephibosheth in the Bible? He was the grandson of Saul and son of
Jonathan who was King David’s dearest friend. Jonathan and David
had made a covenant to each other that they would always look after
each other’s families. King David wanted to fulfill his promise
after the passing of Saul and Jonathan and he did so by restoring
Mephiboseth to the Palace of the king.
Crippled by our sins:
In a way we are all similar to Mephiboseth who was crippled
due to a fall he incurred at the hands of his nurse who was fleeing
with him. We are crippled by the fall of Adam through whom
sin entered this world. Mephiboseth grew up needing help from other
people and was at the mercy of anyone who came looking for
him. Just like Mephiboseth we require the mercy of our loving
God to live a fruitful life. We are not worthy by any means, be it
moral physical or spiritual to stand in the presence of God.
God’s kindness:
We are all crippled by the tendency to sin. The good news
is that just like Mephiboseth who was sought by King David, our
loving God, who is patient and kind to the crown of his creation,
the human race, seeks us. God sent his only son Jesus to seek those
who were not seeking him. John 1:10 say, “ He was in the
world and though the world was made through him, the world did not
recognize him “. Jesus said, “ I have come to seek and save that
which was lost “ Luke 19:10.
We may know there is a God but do we really KNOW him, do we
SEEK him? Mephibosehth did not seek the King because he believed
that he was the king’s enemy and so he was in hiding in a far away
country, but the King sought him and restored him to eat at his
table. Are we hiding away from God due to our sins?
Jesus reminds us that he came into this world to seek the crippled
human kind; he died for our sins, resurrected and is now sitting at
the right hand of the Father. He has set apart a place for us at
his banquet table and wants us to join him in eternal life.
This story of Mephibosehth reminds us how God actively
seeks us sinners and restores us back to his table. Now it is up to
us to respond to that kind of selfless love and spread the good
news to others who are not aware of this living GOD.
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PRAYER
Our Heavenly father we
thank you for restoring us to you through your son Jesus Christ. Help
us to understand your love for us sinners and trust you with all our
heart and mind. Strengthen us with your spirit and lead us to spread
the good news to those around us. Amen
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“God became human to seek and
save what was lost “
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