Kindness to a “Dead Dog”
Read 2 Samuel 9:1-13. How did David show kindness here? How did he, by this act, reveal the character of God?
"Through reports from the enemies of David, Mephibosheth had been led to cherish a strong prejudice against him as a usurper; but the monarch's generous and courteous reception of him and his continued kindness won the heart of the young man; he became strongly attached to David, and, like his father Jonathan, he felt that his interest was one with that of the king whom God had chosen."--Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 713.
David's kindness to the house of Saul reveals that he sought to use God as the pattern for what he wanted to do for Saul's house. He recognized that he, a sinner like all of us, had received undeserved mercy and kindness from the hand of God and was going to reflect that kindness to others.
Before we can pass on God's kindness to others, what must we first recognize? See Luke 7:47. What crucial principle is found here that can play an important role in helping us understand the whole question of kindness to others?
Think for a few moments about the goodness and kindness of God toward you. Do you deserve it? Is it something that's owed you? Are your thoughts, your deeds, your words so selfless, so holy, so loving and accepting that God is merely doing to you as you have done to others? Most likely the answer is No. And herein is a crucial point. When we realize what God has forgiven us, when we realize that God loves us despite what we are and what we have done, then we truly can understand what it means to be kind and loving to those who don't deserve our kindness or our love. How important, then, that we keep the Cross and what it means to us, individually, before us at all times.
What things has God forgiven you for over the years? How should that realization help you treat those who have done things to hurt you?
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