The phrase “margins of society” has to do with the edges. It entails those who have been isolated, excluded, disenfranchised, or marginalized. The outcast.
It can also represent a place in our heart where we have shoved people off to the side who are different from us, have hurt us, plotted against us, divided others against us, or offended us in a manner that causes us to devalue their worth as a human being, or no longer see them in light of one who is “created in the image of God” and in need of grace.
We all have margins in our hearts. They can be much larger in some than others. These are the bitter places reserved for those we resent for the wrongs they have inflicted on us.
David spent much of his life fleeing his rival, King Saul. Saul wanted to harm David because he saw him as a threat to his kingdom. God had anointed David and Saul knew his own days were numbered. But David never retaliated, never sought revenge, and never tried to “take out” Saul even after the Lord had seemingly delivered Saul into David’s hand. He showed mercy. He could’ve justified killing Saul in self defense. After all, Saul had tried to kill him numerous times. But David left his enemy in the hands of God. As fate would have it, Saul died in battle.
God had promised David the kingdom. A normal person in his shoes would’ve subsequently eliminated any competition for the throne of Israel, destroying Saul’s family and descendants. But David was no ordinary person. He was a man after God’s own heart and had no such motive to hurt Saul’s family. On the contrary, he extended the love of God to Saul’s lineage.
(2 Samuel 9:1-11 ESV)
And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.”
Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.”
And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”
Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master’s grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s grandson shall always eat at my table.”
Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons.
Who have you shoved off into the margins of your heart? Perhaps God is calling you to not only show them mercy, but His loving kindness.
We all experience times in life when we have been wronged. Maybe you have felt the sting of someone’s slander or gossip about you. Maybe you’ve been lied to, deceived, or betrayed by a friend. Perhaps there is a family member you have been feuding with. These are often the people who end up in the margins of our heart. Those margins can fill up with much resentment if we are not careful. We like to bring Jesus into the happy relationships in our lives but not so with the margins. We’d rather not invite Jesus into the dark recesses where we have disposed of those having offended us.
Yet Jesus radically compels us to invite him into these margins. Jesus said to bless and pray for them which hurt you (Luke 6:28-29).
While we should protect our hearts as much as possible from injury (see Proverbs 4:23), we need to leave revenge to God. Our focus should always be to turn back to relationship and reconciliation afforded to us by the blood of the cross, having the best relationship possible with all the people we know. To be motivated by love and gratitude, and to express those feelings as much as we can, is the fullest life possible.
Never do we look more like Jesus than when we are showing grace and mercy to those who deserve it least, and extending kindness to the house of one who has inflicted us harm.
Never do we look more like Jesus than when we are showing grace and mercy to those who deserve it least.
What might that look like for you this Christmas?
Remember, the gospel calls us to radical love.