Mercies in Christ
“David said to him, ‘do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.’ Again he prostrated himself and said, ‘what is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?’” 2nd Samuel 9:7, 8
David loved Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, not because this lame footed man was lovable in and of himself, but because of who David saw in Mephibosheth. In him, David could see the attributes and likeness of his beloved friend Jonathan. Because of this likeness, and because of David’s great love for Jonathan, Mephibosheth was made supremely rich, considered royalty, and would sit at the King’s table for the rest of his life. Herein is yet another wonderful picture of the efficacious and electing love of God in Old Testament type.
We are so much like Mephibosheth before our Heavenly Father! Why would the King of Glory regard a bunch of dead, lame dogs like us? For one reason and one reason only…because of Who He sees within our countenance and likeness, namely, His beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of His Son, our Father lifts our head and raises us up into the loftiest of positions and invites us to come and eat and drink at His own table. Simply put, we are loved because of another. No longer regarded as His (deformed) enemy or even a (limping) servant, he now calls us His children, Holy and beloved. This is our new position before the King. Practically, we still suffer from the deformities of sin. In so doing, we too often behave shamefully and in a manner unworthy to be considered of the King’s ward. Positionally, we have been healed of all our infirmities and lifted up into the highest of all Families. God’s own table hides our disfigured legs and He gives us a nobility and honor that we did not earn and do not deserve apart from Christ. He bestowed His majesty onto us and we are now even more honored than earthly nobility. Biblically speaking, we are now called Saints.
This truth of our “Saintly” position in Christ may not seem to be all that significant at first glance now. However, there is a day and hour coming (soon) in which this doctrine will be to us the singularly most important truth of all time. When we appear before the Lord, it will be our position in Christ that enables us entrance into His Kingdom and reign, a position given and bestowed on us by Him.
These are the foundational and fundamental truths. Without Christ, we are spiritually dead and enemies of the King. This is the practice and position of the “natural” man. (A far cry from the damning “self-esteem” ideology is it not?) Only when He chooses to bestow on us His grace and mercy are we given life, title, and honor. Salvation is all of Him and none of us. Praise the Lord.
-Pastor Craig