Love and Loyalty

Introduction

A. Sometimes we get what we deserve. When we have worked hard, we receive our reward. When we have done wrong, we get caught. Sometimes we get what we deserve. But there are those times that we get something we don’t deserve. We get blamed for a problem that wasn’t of our own making. And we rightly demand justice. But then at other times we get rewarded when we had a small and insignificant role. Do we cry out for justice then? Maybe. We enjoy the reward even if our role was small.

B. Pro basketball teams carry fifteen players. Only 12 can be official but with injuries and other challenges, teams carry 15 total players. The Boston Celtics won this past year’s NBA championship. Once a team reaches the playoffs they can only have 12 players on the roster. What happens to the other 3 players who are not on the roster? Ever heard of Gabe Pruitt, Scott Pollard, or Brian Scalabrine? Probably not. These were the three players left off the roster for the Boston Celtics. Guess what? They get rewarded like the other players for winning a championship. While their role was small, they still get rings and a bonus check. Do you think they will cry out for justice? Do you think they will remind the boss that they didn’t play a single second in the playoffs? Do you think they will refuse the ring and the money? Nor do I.

C. What happens when we get something we don’t deserve? Perhaps we feel awkward. Undeserving. Maybe we feel grateful. Maybe we receive it but still think we shouldn’t get too excited, after all someone may need to put us in our place. Maybe we are humbled. Our text today serves as an example of love and loyalty. Not only will we see how the recipient responded but we will look at the motivation for the giver to engage in such actions.

The Text

A. At some point in David’s reign as king, he wants to honor Jonathan. You will recall that Jonathan was Saul’s son. It was Jonathan who preserved David’s life. Jonathan stood between his father, Saul and David. Such loyalty to David is now to be rewarded. Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, is brought to David. David’s words in verse 7 tell us something about the tension at their first meeting. Mephibosheth probably doesn’t think this is going to work out well for him. Everyone else in his family is dead or in hiding. He is crippled which means there is no means of real defense for him. Mephibosheth is scared. Don’t be afraid. Words intended to calm but the real calming words were to come. David promises full and complete restoration of property and a special place at the his side.

B. Mephibosheth’s response reveals both his confusion and understanding. “I don’t deserve this. I have nothing to offer. I’m as good as dead to you.” But David will not be deterred. This has nothing to do with Mephibosheth. It has everything to do with Jonathan. Mephibosheth gets the reward for who his father is. Just this past week a similar experience occurred in my life. One of my students introduced himself to me after class asking if I knew his parents.

C. David does for Mephibosheth what he could because of his great love and loyalty for Mephibosheth’s father, Jonathan. But where does such intensity come from?

Application

A. A promise. Back in 1 Samuel 20, Jonathan and David formed a covenant. It was covenant of commitment long after Jonathan was gone and David was king. That kind of love and loyalty is not found often in our day and time. That kind of promise can be seen when a will is drawn up and in the event of parent’s death, minor children will be raised by someone else. But such an example of love and loyalty is found too in the promise of God through Jesus. To amplify how little Mephibosheth had to offer, the text reveals to use several things:

1.  Twice we are told he is crippled (3 & 13)

2.  Twice we are told he lives in Lo Debar which means "no word or pasture" (4 & 5); in our vernacular "no place special."

B. Doesn’t that fit us? God acted in love and loyalty according to promises made before the beginning of time. Through Jesus we who are spiritually crippled and “nothing special” have been given a seat at the table of plenty. What is your response?

C. But don’t miss one more clue. Not only is a promise involved in David caring for Mephibosheth. There is also a realization that there was a time when he was in hiding and nothing special. This was verified when David and Mephibosheth talk. Look at verse 8—a dead dog like me? Look back in 1 Samuel 24:14. In a conversation with Saul when David is trying to preserve his life, David uses the same phrase to describe himself.

1.  What do you think happened to the heart of David when he heard this same phrase? Don't you think he got goose bumps? The hair on the back of his neck stood up? He knows exactly how Mephibosheth feels.

2.  This is also the basis of real love and loyalty. It is so much easier to express love and loyalty when we have been in a destructive situation and then another needs help from us.

3.  Last week Barney read the "Vision Statement" to us. I trust you have taken a copy and spent some time reading it as well. Why do we want to go and work in our community, with the Student Center, and among the poor? We are commanded to do so. We see the example of Jesus as well. But there is another reason. It was found on the first page of that document. "Each of us recognizes our need for the Great Physician. We each recognize that we are sinners and that we need to be encouraged and strengthened in our spiritual journey."

D. We have a God who has acted in love and loyalty on our behalf. But God didn’t act from a place of grandeur. Jesus came and became like one of us. As the God/man he identified with us in every way. He came as nothing special and died despised and rejected. And we have been healed. How do you respond to that? How will respond in terms of touching the lives of others? We go because we have been there. Broken, lost, nothing special. This is where our passion comes from. Having been there, I want no others to remain there. God’s passion becomes mine. God’s love becomes my love. God’s loyalty becomes my loyalty. God’s action becomes my action. What he has shared with us, we want to share with others. Invitation.

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