Lost & Found: Mephibosheth

"One day David asked, 'Is anyone in Saul's family still alive- anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?' He summoned a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul's servants. 'Are you Ziba?' the king asked. 'Yes sir, I am,' Ziba replied. The king then asked him, 'Is anyone still alive from Saul's family? If so, I want to show God's kindness to them.' Ziba replied, 'Yes, one of Jonathan's sons is still alive. He is crippled in both feet.' 'Where is he?' the king asked. [....] So David sent for him and brought him from Makir's home. His name was Mephibosheth; he was Jonathan's son and Saul's grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in deep respect. David said, 'Greetings, Mephibosheth'. Mephibosheth replied, 'I am your servant'. 'Don't be afraid!' David said. 'Intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather, Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king's table.' Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, 'Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?'  Then the king summoned Saul's servant Ziba and said, 'I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. [...] But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson will eat here at my table.' [...] And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David's table, like one of the king's sons. [....] And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king's table. 
- 2 Samuel 9:1-13

Mephibosheth is one of my favorite characters in the bible. His journey is more of a lost-then-found story to me than any other story in the Bible. It demonstrates the Father’s love. And I love the way it begins. It starts on a (seemingly) normal day. Just one day. There’s no heads-up. Maybe it wasn’t even planned. (And Mephibosheth certainly didn’t know about it.) The whole reason Mephibosheth was found was because David wanted to show anyone who was still alive from Saul’s family kindness. David didn’t care about gender or age or abilities (as seen later). This attitude is much like the one God has for us. He doesn’t care what we can bring to the table- he just wants us. 

So, David asked Ziba. And Ziba answered, “Yeah. I know a guy. He’s a cripple though. Both feet too, Davy.” I love that Ziba immediately makes Mephibosheth’s disability known. The Devil does that too. He’ll whisper (or shout) all the reasons why God shouldn’t waste his time with you.
But Ziba didn’t deter David. His response, the first thing he says is, “Where is he?”
And that’s exactly what God does. He does not back down. Nothing keeps you from him. 

Next thing: Mephibosheth does not live in the place even though he was royal by blood, with Saul being king of Israel at that time. And I don’t think Mephibosheth knew where he belonged. I don’t think he knew that he belonged in a palace. Jerusalem was the complete opposite of Lo-Debar. Jerusalem was the capital of Israel. It was adorned with gold and high walls.
Lo-Debar, where Mephibosheth was living, could basically be described as Nothingville (Debar means “word” or “thing”- thus, “no thing”), or the middle of nowhere. He was royalty, but didn’t know it and, thus, wasn’t living like it at all. 

Yet, David sends for him. And Mephibosheth comes!  
But he’s afraid- because why would King David want anything to do with him? He’s a cripple who’s living nowhere. However, Mephibosheth had a family inheritance. His blessing was generational. Not because of what you did, but because of whose you are!

This story demonstrates the love of the Father to the prodigal and the lost sheep. God is KING and through coming home, there is a seat at his table for YOU. God still wants, yearns, searches, and goes after your crippled image and self. And it's all out of LOVE.