Children of God
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
Are you one of those children of God? What an honour to be a royal of the eternal Kingdom! In the antiquities of West African kingdoms there was a prominent and famous leader, Mansa Musa in the Keita dynasty of the great Mali Empire. Musa is said to have succeeded a man with whom he had no blood relationship at all, yet there were legitimate sons that could taken the throne. He was appointed deputy or assistant of his predecessor, and when his boss went for an expedition on the Atlantic Ocean and never returned, Musa took over leadership of the great Empire; the servant became king, to reign even over the rightfully worthy princes and the entire royal house.
More stories of unworthy little people attaining privileged positions are in plenty. One in the Bible is that of the grandson of King David’s arch-enemy Saul his predecessor. The hostility that King Saul showed to David warranted the annihilation of his entire house when David finally succeeded in becoming king of Israel. But to the astonishment of everyone, David brought one of those family members and adopted him as a son in the royal palace! “So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons.” (2Sam 9:11). Doesn’t this case remind you that those eating at the Lord’s Table as children were once sinners and enemies of their Creator?
Lame (and blind)
lām (פּסה, piṣēaḥ, נכה, nākhēh; χωλός, chōlós):
(1) The condition of being unable or imperfectly able to walk, which unfitted any descendant of Aaron so afflicted for service in the priesthood (Lev_21:18),
For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, (Lev 21:18-19).
and rendered an animal unsuitable for sacrifice (Deu_15:21). The offering of animals so blemished was one of the sins with which Malachi charges the negligent Jews of his time (Mal_1:8-13).
(2) Those who suffered from lameness, such as Mephibosheth, whose limbs were injured by a fall in childhood (2Sa_4:4; 2Sa_9:3). In the prophetic description of the completeness of the victory of the returning Israelites, it is predicted that the lame shall be made whole and shall leap like a hart (Jer_3:18; Isa_35:6).
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees... Behold, your God will come… He will come and save you. … then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. (Isa 35:3-6)
The proverbial saying quoted in 2Sa_5:8 cannot be correct as rendered in the King James Version, for we read in Mat_21:14 that the lame came to our Lord in the temple and were healed.
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Now because David was a type of Christ, his Lord and son, his root and offspring, let his kindness to Mephibosheth serve to illustrate the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards fallen man, which yet he was under no obligation to, as David was to Jonathan.
Man was convicted of rebellion against God, and, like Saul's house, under a sentence of rejection from him, was not only brought low and impoverished, but lame and impotent, made so by the fall.
The Son of God enquires after this degenerate race, that enquired not after him, comes to seek and save them. To those of them that humble themselves before him, and commit themselves to him, he restores the forfeited inheritance, he entitles them to a better paradise than that which Adam lost, and takes them into communion with himself, sets them with his children at his table, and feasts them with the dainties of heaven.
Lord, what is man, that thou shouldst thus magnify him!
By grace, in the Lord, a servant becomes a king, a hostile alien becomes a prince; you truly are a child of God when you accept his gracious invitation. And if you are still far away, the good news is that the invitation is still open, join us in the highest royal palace and take your place as prince or princess of the Most High King. The qualification is nothing in our human reach, but the access bridge has been constructed by Jesus Christ. He is the Word of life, the Light of the world, and all who put their faith in Him receive the right to become children of God. He calls and says, “Abide in Me”, and that we do by continuing in faith and a responsive relation with Him.
- There is salvation for the ‘enemies of God’
- There is healing of body, mind and soul for the lame in the presence of the King
- Never despair, never lose hope.
Child of God, blessed are you because you have assurance of life today and a joyful eternal fellowship in heaven tomorrow; you will live a life free of the uncertainties of nature as you have a caring Father to whom you can surrender all. Thank God for the grace that drew you in.
God bless you!