Ephesians 2:12-13
Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
In the theater/film world, there is an acting technique called “The Method” in which actors are trained to emotionally recall moments from their own life to recreate the emotional expression for the script. This is used by many, including Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson! Let’s do some Method work to get in the head of a lesser-known character in the Bible named Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9).
Mephibosheth, whose name means “shame”, was the son of Jonathon and the grandson of King Saul. He was a crippled man living in a dry wasteland called Lo-Debar which means “no pastures.” He was living there because when he was just 5 years old, news spread that his dad and granddad, Jonathan and Saul, were both killed. The remainder of Saul’s family could only assume that with the new King David coming into power, they would all be killed off next, so they fled in fear to become exiles and enemies of the king. But then out of the blue, Mephibosheth got summoned by King David! Can you imagine the hatred and fear he must have felt as he traveled toward David? He might have thought, “David is just seeking me out to finish me off like all the other kings do when there is a power change. I do not trust him! That should be my throne!” But Mephibosheth has NO IDEA that before He was born, his father Jonathon was closer than a brother to David and that they made a covenant to each other to always show kindness to each other's families- even beyond death. Jonathon trusted that David would be faithful to the promises. David says to Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9:7, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” Can you smell the gospel here, friends?
Mephibosheth receives grace and a place at the King’s table, not because of anything he did, but because of what someone else did for him before he was born. “The Method” technique should come naturally here because Mephibosheth’s story is OUR story too. We were enemies of God, dead in our sin and shame and we did nothing for God to call us to Him, yet He loved and chose us first! We can trust His faithfulness to His covenant promises.
God, thank you for showing me your mercy and grace even when I was your enemy. Thank you for including me in the covenant on the cross before I was born.
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