Grace Outside the Box 宽容

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Dexu Xia

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Jul 29, 2020, 2:13:36 AM7/29/20

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Grace Outside the Box

Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons. 2 Samuel 9:11

Tom worked for a law firm that advised Bob’s company. They became friends—until Tom embezzled thousands of dollars from the company. Bob was hurt and angry when he found out, but he received wise counsel from his vice president, a believer in Christ. The VP noticed Tom was deeply ashamed and repentant, and he advised Bob to drop the charges and hire Tom. “Pay him a modest salary so he can make restitution. You’ll never have a more grateful, loyal employee.” Bob did, and Tom was.

Mephibosheth, grandson of King Saul, hadn’t done anything wrong, but he was in a tough spot when David became king. Most kings killed the royal bloodline. But David loved King Saul’s son Jonathan, and treated his surviving son as his own (see 2 Samuel 9:1–13). His grace won a friend for life. Mephibosheth marveled that he “deserved nothing but death from my lord the king, but you gave your servant a place” (19:28). He remained loyal to David, even when David’s son Absalom chased David from Jerusalem (2 Samuel 16:1–4; 19:24–30).

Do you want a loyal friend for life? Someone so extraordinary may require you to do something extraordinary. When common sense says punish, choose grace. Hold them accountable, but give the undeserving a chance to make things right. You may never find a more grateful, devoted friend. Think outside the box, with grace.

Who has sinned against you? How might you hold them accountable while also forgiving them?

Father, I’ve received extraordinary grace from You. Help me show that grace to others—especially to those with a repentant spirit.

宽容

米非波设与大卫同桌吃饭，像是王的一个儿子一样。—撒母耳记下9章11节

德铭上班的律师事务所为旭邦的公司提供咨询服务，两人成了朋友，直到旭邦发现德铭从他的公司挪用了数千美金。旭邦感到受伤和气愤，但公司一位基督徒副总裁认为德铭对自己的行为已深感羞愧和后悔，便建议旭邦宽容德铭的过失，不要提出诉讼并且雇用他。副总裁说：“给他一份普通薪金，让他有机会补偿所造成的损失，你也能拥有一个最感恩、最忠心的员工。”旭邦接受了建议，最后德铭也不负众望。

扫罗王的孙子米非波设并没做错什么事，大卫做王以后，米非波设的处境却很艰难，因通常新国王都会除灭前皇室的后裔。但大卫却因爱扫罗王的儿子约拿单，便将他的儿子视如己出（参阅撒母耳记下9章1-13节）。大卫的恩慈让他得着一位真正的朋友。米非波设说：“我祖全家的人，在我主我王面前，都算为死人；王却使仆人在王的席上同人吃饭”（19章28节）。及至后来大卫离开耶路撒冷以逃避他儿子押沙龙的追杀时，米非波设依然忠诚于大卫（16章1-4节，19章24-30节）。

你也想拥有一生忠诚的朋友吗？有时，我们需要做一些超乎寻常的事。虽常理说犯错应给予惩罚，但我们可以选择以恩慈相待，让犯错的人为错误负责，也让这些看似不值得原谅的人有机会弥补过错。如此一来，你可能就会拥有一个最感恩、最忠诚的朋友。让我们以宽容的心打破常规。

天父，我们从祢领受了超乎一切的恩典。求祢帮助我们
也能对人心怀宽容，特别是对那些已有悔意的人。