The Influence of Loving Kindness
Luke 6:26-35; 2 Samuel 9; 1 Kings 15:5
This morning we need to talk about putting on something that, when you first hear it may sound full of weak emotions and sentimentality. But it’s actually far more strategic than it is sentimental, weak or soft. But when we think of being loving and kind, or (I’m going to say) putting on loving kindness, if we’re not careful we can see it as an expression of weakness and nothing could be further from the truth.
As a matter of fact we’re going to see that God’s greatest warrior General and later his most brilliant warfare strategist and fighter as a king – was characterized by the quality of hessed (loving kindness).
Now think about this; there’s no need to remind us to be kind to people who can dominate us or overpower us. Right? Unless we’ve just lost our minds we’re all kind to those people.
Most of us are still kind to a boss, even one that’s short-tempered and unkind to us. No one here would tick off the cop who pulled us over. . . at least not on purpose.
But it takes a strong man or woman, and usually one empowered by the very Spirit of Christ to demonstrate real and genuine affection and loving kindness to someone who can’t really do anything for you, and especially to be Christ-like enough to demonstrate that kindness to someone who might otherwise naturally have been your enemy.
Luke 6:26-36 (HCSB)
26 Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets. 27 “But I say to you who listen: [It’s one thing to hear and another thing entirely to listen] Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. [Now you’ve got to realize that in the gospel of Luke this entire section of teaching is aimed at disciples – followers. No one else could have understood this advice, which runs contrary and in direct opposition to everything intuitive and taught by the world] 29 If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from one who takes your things, don’t ask for them back. 31 Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Certainly the ultimate display of loving kindness is the cross – but we expect God to be good at agape (unconditional love), so I want to call your attention to a man we’ve already looked at – a man whose biggest failure was highlighted just a couple of weeks ago.
We all know that Jesus recommends agape – love without pre-conditions, limits, or conditions, but how realistic is it that I should expect to actually love that way? How important is it? What difference could it make?
We’ve been enjoying the teaching of Andy Stanley on Wednesday nights in our adult co-educational small group. The main emphasis of his current teaching is on the necessity of the church learning again how to leverage love as the greatest force for winning the world that has ever been unleashed by God, through the church, for the good of sinners.
They’ve seen us at our worst, picketing non-believers for acting like non-believers – and as Tony Harding so aptly put it last Wednesday – “that’s like being mad at a dog for doing what a dog does.”
But the one, all consuming passion of Christ Community Church, from now until Jesus comes, is to show the world what it looks like when a group of people really love like Jesus does.
Can we do that? Well, I think we can find encouragement in David.
We know David is like we are. He loves God, but he’s broken, flawed and imperfect. He loves God but he allows passion to take over and to lead him into tragic disregard and flagrant violation of God’s best for his life.
Let’s look a little deeper – see (like Paul Harvey used to say) some of the rest of the story about King David, because to understand the relationship we’re looking at this week, one he established with a man named Mephibosheth, you have to see the relationships he had with three other key players in his life.
1. David and Saul – Saul was anointed as the first King over the united kingdom of Israel and Judah. David and Saul couldn’t have been more opposite in appearance. David had a slight build, a ruddy complexion and an unimpressive stature. Saul, on the other hand, looked every bit the King. He was a foot taller than most – handsome – and strong. In fact, the combination of David’s loyalty and Saul’s imposing presence should have been enough to cause Saul to feel secure, and for a while he did – even giving David his daughter, Michal, as a (literal) trophy wife.
It’s a long, involved and enlightening story to read about Saul’s assumption of the throne and his subsequent victories and eventual downfall, but the pertinent facts regarding David are like this: David always respected the position of King and honored Saul as the man who held it, even though there came a time when his own rising popularity and victories made David a target for the thin-skinned, jealous and impudent Saul. Saul marked David for assassination. He sent some men to David's house to kill him. David escaped and his wife Michal (the “trophy wife” and Saul’s own daughter) put a statue in his bed to fool the men while he got away.
Several times Saul took an army to the desert country of Judah to try to kill David, but with God's help David always escaped. He refused to fight with Saul or kill him because God chose Saul to be king. Twice David had a chance to kill Saul with impunity but he would not do it.
2. David and Jonathan – Saul had a son named Jonathan. Jonathan found out that his father wanted to kill David. As a matter of fact, he warned David, and the story of David and Jonathan is one of a lifelong friendship. In fact, their friendship is legendary. It’s a friendship for all time – one for the record books.
Now think about it: David’s life and heart were so touched and influenced by God, and his faith in God was so strong, that he refused to harm the man who wanted to kill him, and he remained best friends with Saul’s son, investing unwavering trust in spite of the fact that one change of heart on the part of Jonathan, towards his dad and towards the kingdom, even what would have been expedient for him – with David out of the picture he would have inherited the throne – and in spite of all of that David and Jonathan were steadfast and loyal friends until Jonathan’s death, along with two of his brothers, all fighting alongside their dad, but not against David – because the bond of David and Jonathan was never broken.
3. David and God – Weaving the tapestry of the backdrop throughout David’s life story – setting the pace – predicting the outcome is David’s primary relationship – one that he worked on throughout what would have been hours and hours of loneliness, tending his father’s sheep. While there he was meditating on Yahweh and His word – singing, playing and writing Psalms to Him. He learned how to love by first loving God.
And incidentally, that’s the only place to learn. That’s the only pattern that’s certain.
Now, as Bill O’Reilly says, “That’s the memo.”
Now I’m going to share with you a verse I find to be one of the most encouraging, if not THE most encouraging verse in all of Scripture. We looked at David’s adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah the Hittite two weeks ago. We’re examining a far more balanced portrait of David this week, but before we do let’s read this Scripture together.
1 Kings 15:5 For David did what was right in the LORD's eyes, and he did not turn aside from anything He had commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
Do you know why this is so encouraging to me? This reminds me, when I cannot see anything but the gravity of some failure, that David was not remembered primarily for his life’s aberration, but for the fulfillment of his life’s call.
And it causes me to remember another event in the life of David, when Samuel was choosing from among Jesse’s sons for the one to be anointed as the next king. And Jesse brought them out one by one, each bigger and stronger than the last – but the Prophet says, “No (as impressive as he is) that’s not the one God has chosen, for man looks on the outward appearance but God sees the heart.”
I’m also reminded that there are some people whose failures and scars have made them more tender and usable (and many of them are sitting here), more open, transparent, loving and godly – humbled and grateful they are living lives defined not by their failures but by their callings.
Now let’s look at today’s story: I have to tell you, or remind you about the story of David and Mephibosheth.
Mephibosheth was the grandson of Saul and the son of David’s dear friend Jonathan. His dad and his grandpa were killed along with his remaining uncles when he was only five years old.
His nurse took off in a panic and as she fled she dropped him – and this in the days of no orthopedic surgery, so Mephibosheth became a lifelong cripple – probably a paraplegic.
As Mephibosheth grew, David’s life was more and more complicated and involved with the work of warring, conflicts, battles and the other duties of being King. But the time comes when David subdues all of the major adversaries of Israel and that’s where we pick up the story in 2 Samuel Chapter 9.
1David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “At your service,” he replied. 3The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.” 4“Where is he?” the king asked. Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” 5So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. 6When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth!” “At your service,” he replied. 7“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” 8Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” 9Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) 11Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’sa table like one of the king’s sons. 12Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.
David makes an inquiry: (in chapter 9)
Mephibosheth is now grown, and has his own family (has a son)
But David made vows to Jonathan (his father) a long long time ago and NOW his memory (for some reason) is jarred, and he remembers those promises.
- Acts 13:6 Paul reminiscing about David: “that he served his generation according to the will of God”
- Meaning: he was a good man, that made it his business to do good
- In this story of Mephibosheth, David sought opportunity to do good.
- David asked a person a question, that he was sure would be apt to know the answer:
- The question: “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness?” (in another verse he says “the kindness of God”).
- Saul had a very large family 1 Chron 8:33, large enough to replenish a large community - Disobedience/sin can empty full families
Let’s be informed by what we know:
1. Never forget: Saul was David’s sworn enemy
But long before the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 6 about loving our enemies David had been with the same Author learning to bless instead of curse, knowing that’s how we overcome evil.
- And in the process he finds mercy for himself. When you think of David’s response to Saul realize that if human, fallible David can honor the man who is literally trying to kill him you can show love to those who mistreat and dishonor you.
2. Jonathan was David’s sworn friend
From their friendship, we see what faith looks like: not merely mental ascent to a set of propositions, but a trusting, dutiful relationship between two parties who love one another. When you dumb down your faith, or define it in weaker terms you’re missing the opportunity to enjoy amazing fellowship with God.
3. Mephibosheth lived in obscurity
- hidden away Living with a kind man named Machir who had taken him in
- probably from his mothers or fathers influence
- however, probably forgotten, as a dead man
What’s the point? No one would have known except God and David, had David just put Jonathan, Saul, those chapters of his life, and that whole mess out of his mind. He was king now.
When you think of Mephibosheth and David remember that being kind and loving to those who cannot promote you captures God’s attention and His promotion is the only one that matters.
Proverbs teaches “he who waters, shall be watered himself” (Prov 11:25)
I want you to think about this: Can you imagine how Mephibosheth may have felt during the long trip over to see the King?
- probably caused Mephibosheth’s heart to almost fail
- trying to figure out what was the purpose for the Kings urgent call
- would he too have to die, as all of his brethren before him?
- Chap 9:7 David said, “don’t be afraid”, same words Jesus would speak, "be not afraid". David spoke peace to his troubled soul.
There are lots of Mephibosheth’s out there. In fact, everyone without Christ is a Mephibosheth.
We have an opportunity, by the way we express loving kindness to others, to reveal Christ to them in a way our judgment and criticism could never accomplish.
In fact, in the story David is a type of Christ –i.e. representative of Christ, but do you know who Mephibosheth represents?
Mephibosheth appears only a few times in Scripture, yet he is a powerful message to us all. He represents the outcast who is embraced and included by God, which is everyone who’s ever come to Christ.
The Hebrew word kindness: means more than being kind to someone
- The root word hessed: suggest covenant loyalty.
Faithful love in Hebrew means: mercy, loving kindness, faithfulness.
- And in all cases the word faithful is associated with God.
So here’s what often happens when we represent a God of grace and mercy by personally demonstrating kindness toward those who are far outside of His protection:
We show them what it means to follow God LIKE MEPHIBOSHETH followed David:
1. He realized that he was sought out by the king.
2. He humbled himself before the King.
3. Rejoiced in the words of the king.
4. Accepted the provision of the king.
5. Adjusted his life to the requests of the king.
And that’s the power of grace. It’s the most life-changing force in the universe. When we display loving kindness we are modeling Christ to the world – and more than that we are being Christ-like. Because the expression of loving kindness, especially toward those who cannot promote us, or even those who would like to be our enemies is the closest a human can come to dispensing grace.
Mephibosheth called himself a “dead dog.” Most people are unaware of the power of grace. Many Christians have forgotten what grace is all about. May we never take for granted what God has done in bringing us “dead dogs” to the table of life.
CONCLUSION: John Newton:
- rebellious son - runaway - slave trader
- “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior!”
You are not a greater sinner than He is a Savior.
-John Newton wrote not of common grace, or exceptional grace, but AMAZING GRACE!
(Lead congregation in learning and singing this chorus)
You’re the only Jesus some will ever see, you’re the only words of life, some will ever read, so let them see in you the one in who is all they’ll ever need, 'Cause you're the only Jesus, some will ever see.
