Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.   Luke 22:42

It’s Forgiveness Thursday and a great day to get right with God and others.

Have you ever felt like you had to choose between your family and doing what you thought was right? I know I have, and it’s incredibly painful regardless of the reason, because as children we want our parents to always accept and love us.  It can be devastating to lose your family because you need to do the right thing.

Last night I was reading about the blood covenant between David and Jonathan in I and II Samuel.  Saul was the King of Israel and Jonathan was the crown prince.  David, who came from a peasant family, had killed Goliath and become a general in Saul’s army.  Jonathan and David became good friends, and overtime they realized that they both loved and sought the will of God.   So, The two entered into a blood covenant.  Jonathan, the maker of the covenant, gave David his robe, armor, bow, sword and belt as gifts.  This covenant was more than a promise between friends.  It was a pact between families intended to cover future generations.  However, their descendants would have to renew the covenant to keep it active.

Over time King Saul was disobedient to God, and was jealous of David’s popularity.  So, David was forced to flee into the forest.  Jonathan and David reaffirmed their covenant and Jonathan protected David from his father, who was obsessed with murdering David.  King Saul’s obsession reaffirmed Jonathan’s commitment to David, because he realized that God had chosen David to be king.

The two young men grew up and married, and Jonathan became a father.  Isreal’s enemies, the Philistines, attacked and both King Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle.  The area became violent and Jonathan’s children, the princes were hidden.  One of Jonathan’s sons, Methibosheth, was dropped on the pavement when the royal nurse was trying to escape. his legs were crushed.  David became King and searched for the family of Jonathan, so he could extend the covenant to Jonathan’s children.  No one would tell King David the family’s location, because they thought the King would surely harm the young princes.

After many years of searching, the young Methibosheth was found and brought to King David.  The young man had been taught by King Saul’s family to hate David.  However, David loved Methibosheth as if the young man was his father, Jonathan.  David extended the covenant onto Methibosheth.  So, Methibosheth had to make a decision between going back to his family or staying with King David and losing all that he loved.  Despite his vulnerability from being physically handicapped in both legs, he took a chance and stayed with David.  David loved and cared for Methibosheth as if he was one of his sons.  Great story.

Christ’s covenant story is similar in some ways.  He was a descendant of Adam.  He turned away from the family of Adam, and entered into a covenant with God as our representative, which was carried out with his blood shed on the cross.  The good news is His sacrifice allows us to be a member of a different family, the royal family of God.  When we participate in communion, we are sitting at the royal table and soaking up the love of God, our Heavenly Father.

So, today remember, if you have had to walk away from your family, for whatever reason, you are still loved and adored by your Heavenly Father.  God bless you.