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"THE KINDNESS OF GOD" "And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew THE KINDNESS OF GOD unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet." (2 Samuel 9:3) (caps mine)The enemies of David had been soundly defeated. David, the man after God's own heart, had united all of Israel, set the nation to a high standard of great prosperity, and taught the people how to live victoriously. There was peace throughout the land. What else remained for David to do?He then remembered king Saul and his son Jonathan. While Saul had been David's bitterest foe; Jonathan, on the other hand, had been his best friend. So because of David's love for his best friend, he desired to extend kindness to the house of Saul. And this was not to be some sort of good deed to impress someone that would make David look like he was a big deal in the eyes of the people. On the contrary, the very words of David expressed it as, "THE KINDNESS OF GOD." It was Heaven's kindness we see here in contrast to human kindness. In other words, it was God-like kindness!A servant, by the name of Ziba, reminded David about Jonathan's son Mephibosheth. This fella Mephibosheth was only a lad of 5 years old when he was dropped by his nurse while she was fleeing following the news of Abner's death, and that accident resulted in Mephibosheth becoming lame in both feet. For almost 20 years, Mephibosheth had been living in a city by the name of Lodebar. The name Lodebar means "Pasture-less", "Faint", and "Weary." We read where David sent for Mephibosheth, and when Mephibosheth came before David, he fell on his face and did reverence.Now you're going to like the rest of this story. I sure do!David's first words to Mephibosheth, who had been living as a fugitive in Lodebar were, "Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake," (2 Sam. 9:7) David then continues with this God-like kindness by showing grace and restoring all the land of king Saul, which had been lost, back to Mephibosheth. David even went so far as to bestow upon Mephibosheth the honor of sitting at the king's own table from that day forward as David's own adopted son. What grace! What compassion! What kindness!Do we not get a glimpse of our Heavenly Father in this great chapter? We too were lame and unable to come to Christ in our own strength. We too were once living as fugitives in our own little Lodebar somewhere out yonder which was indeed "Pasture-less", where we were "faint" and "weary" because of sin which separated us from God.Ah, but our great and mighty King sent for us by the wooing of the Holy Spirit and called us by name saying, "Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness." And oh, "THE KINDNESS OF GOD" it was that day when each of us trusted Christ for salvation. Our Heavenly Father showered us with His kind grace, restored our lost estate, and we too one day will sit at our King's table as His very own adopted children!Friends, as it was that day with David and Mephibosheth, so it is every day with us and our kind and gracious Saviour Who always eliminates our fears with His Presence and established our future with His promises! No matter how you slice it, that is indeed "THE KINDNESS OF GOD!"