A royal welcome to the disabled (2 Sam 9-10; 1 Chr 18-19; Ps 89; Acts 26)

Can you imagine a church refusing to allow someone to join in Sunday school because they were autistic? Or a church where some were reluctant to move a pew to make space for a wheelchair? It’s hard to believe, but sadly those with extra needs sometimes find they have to fight to make places more accessible. Sometimes they don’t have the energy to do that and so the church may miss out on the very people who should be a priority.

How different is the attitude of King David to Mephishobeth (2 Samuel 9). He goes out of his way to make provision for this man who can’t walk. Mephishobeth views himself as a dead dog (v8), but David views him as someone of incredible value who he will give a place at his table to forever.

Does the character of David remind you of one of his descendants? If you have come to Jesus, you’ll know that He saved you when you were unable to save yourself. You might have been very religious like the apostle Paul in our reading from Acts 26 and you needed Jesus to wake you up to show you your desperate need of His salvation. Or perhaps you viewed yourself as a dead dog (like Mephibosheth) and wondered why the Lord Jesus would have anything to do with you, but He came and welcomed you to His table, and offers you a place in His house forever. Jesus went out of his way to welcome the very people that others excluded. He also taught His followers to welcome them as well (Luke 14:13).

In his book “disability and the gospel” Michael Beates writes:

“God’s people are called to identify with those broken people the world rejects, with those whom the world considers liabilities, risks, and embarrassments.”

It’s worth asking, do such people feel welcome in our churches? Do we do everything we can to make church as accessible as possible to allow people to be included and to serve despite their disabilities? You can find out how to do an audit that will help you check here: https://throughtheroof.org/2020/11/25/free-church-ministry-resources/

No matter what trouble we may face, the model of David to Mephibosheth points us to our Lord Jesus who has done everything to ensure we have a welcome in His house forever. Praise God!