2 SAMUEL 9
What another beautiful picture of God revealed in David in 2 Samuel 9. After being established as king of Israel, David looks for a way to pay kindness to the family of Saul: "The king asked, 'Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?'" (vs 3) This was something quite remarkable in David’s time. In those days, kings would do everything possible to exterminate the descendants of previous kings in order to prevent their ascension to the throne at a later time.
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But not David. Up to this point, for the most part, he had trusted in God to take him to the throne at the right time, and he obviously trusted in God to keep him there. He didn’t feel the need to get rid of any competition from Saul’s line of descendants. Neither did he simply leave Saul’s family alone (which would have been considered enough of a good deed). Instead, he actively sought ways to show kindness to the descendants of his bitterest enemy.
This is what God is like. He loves His enemies. And that love is an active love. Not only does He refrain from getting revenge against His enemies, He actively seeks ways to show kindness to them! He returns good for evil! When He is slapped on one cheek, He turns the other cheek also. When someone sues Him for His shirt, He offers His coat as well. When we force Him to go one mile with us, He goes two instead.
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As a line from one of my favorite hymns says, O love of God, how deep and great! Far deeper than our deepest hate! We can’t do anything to make God stop loving us. Even if we become His worst enemy, His love for us is forever unchanged.