Monday meditation: lifetime loyalty, the power of a promise kept
If you were writing about the story of David and Mephibosheth, what would you say? (Maybe you’d spend quite a bit of time practicing how to say Mephibosheth! But I digress.)
Most reflections on David’s faithfulness to Jonathan’s crippled son speak of friendship. Indeed, as noted in this space last week, David’s friendship with Jonathan was remarkable. We see it in even greater measure by David’s lavish generosity to Jonathan’s son and his whole household long after Jonathan was gone.
David was likely a young man when he and Jonathan became friends, something for young adults to consider as they read David’s story. Some do not have friends in old age because they never committed to friendships in their 20s. They little realized then how they might need support and encouragement later.
It’s possible—and advisable—to build friendships at any age. But I’m thanking God for people I’ve known for decades walking with me through my journey today. Some of them we see every week or two. Others encourage from afar. Every call or note or gift or email adds strength to the day.
But beyond the lessons of friendship here, there’s another point: the power of a promise.
Duplicity rules the day in our time. We expect government leaders to lie. Divorce seldom surprises us. And with even the simplest of business transactions, we must agree to terms spelled out in pages of fine print. Generally, no one expects anyone to do what they say they’ll do.
But David did. Years before, after Jonathan had saved his life, David remembered their emotional farewell and Jonathan’s assessment of it: “We have sworn loyalty to each other in the Lord’s name. The Lord is the witness of a bond between us and our children forever.”
Forever. Better than a repair person’s lifetime warranty. Similar to “until death do us part.” There’s nothing else quite like loyalty that lasts a lifetime.
It’s a noteworthy point for caregivers pondering David’s follow-through on his friendship with Jonathan. We may not have thought long about what we were saying with our wedding vows of fidelity “for better, for worse, in sickness and in health.” But as we age, we see the significance of the promise in sacrificial attention provided by caregivers all around us.
Some are watching us, too. We may feel confined by our caregiver role, with little idea of what others decide when they see us honoring our vow. But the beauty of a promise kept can have influence and impact beyond what we imagine. Perhaps that thought can sustain us through another week of quiet faithfulness.
Read: 1 Samuel 20:42; 2 Samuel 9
Pray: Keep before my eyes, Lord, a vision and a goal of commitment. Sustain me with the knowledge that others may be inspired to faithfulness by the example I’m trying to live out this week. Use me in others’ lives, despite my weakness and failures.
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