There is a wonderful lesser known story of King David that I love which shows his heart of kindness really well. The story is told in 2 Samuel 9 about a lame guy named Mephibosheth.

After David had ascended the throne and was fully in control of all of Israel he questioned; “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Jonathan was the son of the former King Saul and David’s best friend who had been killed in battle.

Usually a new king was not looking to show kindness to descendants of a former king. In fact, the opposite was more often true; killing anyone who might eventually try to claim to be a legitimate heir and wrest the throne back. Not David. He was secure in his call from God and wanted to honor any descendents of the former king and his devoted friend.

As it turned out, Jonathan had a son Mephibosheth who had become lame as a little boy running to escape during a siege. Now he was an adult and had his own son. When Mephibosheth was brought before David he prostate himself in fear, probably thinking his life was on the line again.

Instead David said to him; “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” (Verse 7) From that day, Mephibosheth was treated with kindness and honor.

A heart of kindness such as David had is a worthy pursuit. I want to follow his example and you might want to also. God called David a man after his own heart. Wouldn’t you love God to call you the same?