Serving with Kindness | Part Five
There’s a beautiful story about “serving with kindness” in 2 Samuel.
David had become king, had fought many battles and won many victories.
2 Samuel:9 opens with a question from David:
“Is there still anyone left of the family of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”[1]
The relationships here were complex. Saul was king before David and was angered by the prospect of David replacing him. Jonathan was Saul’s son, but he and David had a warm and deep relationship as friends.
David had already shown immense kindness by taking on many of Saul’s household, which was culturally very unusual. The normal practice at the time was to “eliminate” all links with a previous king.
David calls on Ziba, who was a previous servant of King Saul and says:
“Is there no longer anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show the kindness and graciousness of God?”[2]
Ziba tells David that Saul’s grandson, Jonathan’s’ son, Mephibosheth, is still alive, but crippled. He was involved in an accident as a young child.
David sends for Mephibosheth – gifts to him the previous lands of Saul and welcomes him to live in the palace and eat at David’s table. He becomes a loved and adopted son of the king.
Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons[3].
Once again, we see that:
- Kindness is reflecting the kindness and graciousness of God
- It is especially kindness shown to the vulnerable
- It is kindness to potential enemies – those who might disagree or threaten our stability
David’s promise to Mephibosheth is a shadow of God’s grace and kindness to us.
But we are not simply like David; we are like Mephibosheth: weak, lame and fearful until Jesus, the King, comes to us with grace, kindness and mercy. We are restored to the king through His initiative, love and grace. We are welcomed into the kingdom as sons.
When we are calling ourselves and our students to “serve with kindness” we are calling on a deep motivation; the very nature of God Himself.
Blessings
Brian
[1] 2 Samuel 9:1
[2] 2 Samuel 9:3
[3] 2 Samuel 9:11