This passage shows us just how unique David really was. In ancient cultures, when a new family took over a throne, it was common to kill everyone in the previous king's family so as to assure that no one had a claim on the throne. Yikes, life was pretty rough for royalty. One day you're living it up, the next your running for your life. But anyway, David had full confidence in the Lord. He wasn't worries about what mere man could do to him. God gave David the throne, and God would take it away if He so saw fit. This confidence led David to reach out in love and compassion to Saul's heirs. Mephibosheth was the son of David's dear friend Jonathan, who was the son of Saul. Mephibosheth was dropped by his nurse while they family was fleeing after the death of Saul. The fall caused permanent damage, making Mephibosheth unable to support himself. Thus he considers himself a worthless person - a dead dog.
Yet David treats Mephibosheth as family, as worthwhile. He shows him compassion and friendship. We can learn a lot from David. There are many people in our lives that we may overlook - people associated with those that have "done us wrong", people that seem to have no worth, people that are less fortunate than ourselves. David shows us to treat these people just like you would want to be treated. He reminds us of the golden rule. Think about those in your life - are you living by the golden rule? Are you treating others the way you want to be treated?
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