And David said to him, “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.” 2 Samuel 9:7 ESV

This verse paints a beautiful picture of the restoration of Mephibosheth, though he is not the focus of the story. Mephibosheth had been hiding in Lo Debar, because He was afraid that King David would want to kill him, since his grandfather, King Saul had tried to kill David. But instead, David remembered his best friend Jonathan, who was Mephibosheth’s father. In that same way, restoration in our lives begins because God promises to forget our sin, when He remembers that Jesus gave His life for us on Calvary.

Because of that friendship, Mephibosheth’s life was completely changed by the kindness of King David. First, David gave Mephibosheth everything that his grandfather King Saul had lost because of his sin. Then, instead of digging up past grievances, David invited Mephibosheth to come live in the palace with him and join him every night at the super table. While many of us admire wealthy and powerful people, few of us are ever invited to live on their estate or sit down and have dinner with them. But God invites us today to come to His house and sit at the table with Him. God is determined to do more than just bless us: He not only wants to be our closest friend, but He also offers to adopt us into His family! But we will never fully receive all that Jesus has in store until we return from our own Lo Debar, come and live in His house, and sit down at the table with Jesus every day for the rest of our life!