I will
be attending our Annual Conference of our Church in Syracuse today. We have new
bishop, Bishop Mark Webb, who is in his forties. Bishop Webb loves Jesus and he
loves the church. He and his wife have two sons. The oldest son attends Grove
City College in Pennsylvania, where our three daughters Janice, Laureen and
Jessica graduated from.
I am
reflecting on how the Lord has blessed me in so many ways. One of those
blessings is that I have been lavished by His kindness all the days of my life.
We had a preacher from Mississippi, Rev. Cecil Williamson, for special services
in April, 1991. In one of his small group presentations he used the verse from
Ephesians: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each
other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians
4:32).
"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior
appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because
of His mercy" (Titus
3:4-5).
In a sense, kindness almost has become a novelty in our culture that has gone astray from Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It is increasingly a culture of rudeness, self-seeking self-promotion, and self-centeredness.
The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary translates the Hebrew word for kindness, chesed, as "compassion" and "faithfulness to one's obligations, as well as to relatives, friends and to slaves." According to The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, the New Testament word for kindness is translated from the Greek word chrestotes. The dictionary says, "This word can describe gentleness, goodness, uprightness, generosity and graciousness. The New Testament [also] describes kindness as an attribute of God (Titus 3:4). Kindness is [also] a characteristic of true love (1 Corinthians 13:4). The Lord's people should possess kindness and not refuse to dispense it to others" (Matthew 5:7; Acts 20:35; Romans 15:2-5; Ephesians 4:32; 1 Peter 3:8; 1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 3:17).
King
David, in spite all his faults and frailties, is known as the man after God's
own heart. One of the reasons for this description is that David showed
kindness. One of the most profound Old Testament accounts of this kindness is
the story of David and Mephibosheth. David had made a promise to his best
friend, Jonathan, that he would show kindness to his family should anything
happen to him. In 1 Samuel
20:12-17, we see Jonathan's request and the covenant between
him and David: "'But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord's kindness as long
as I live, so that I may not be killed, and do not ever cut off your kindness
from my family—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies
from the face of the earth.' So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of
David, saying, 'May the Lord call David's enemies to account.' Jonathan had
David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved
himself."
After
Jonathan died in a bloody battle alongside his father, King Saul, David took the
throne. As king David could have done what a king traditionally did, which was
to kill the sons and families who would be a threat to the throne and kingship.
David did the opposite. He kept his covenant with Jonathan and showed kindness
to Jonathan's son Mephibosheth (see 2 Samuel
9).
We see David's kindness and kind intentions in 2 Samuel 9:1 when David asked:
"Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for
Jonathan's sake?"
David
found Mephibosheth and showed him great kindness and the highest of honors when
he gave him his grandfather's land and a place at the king's table. The story
ends with 2 Samuel 9:13: "And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always
ate at the king's table." What awesome kindness!
We
have also received this kindness and have been invited to eat at the King's
table. In fact, King Jesus is Host at the Great Banquet.
Brown
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