Restorations Limit
2 Samuel 9:7
"And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually."
The story of Mephibosheth is a story of restoration. When news was received that Saul and his sons were killed, Mephibosheth's mother dropped him which caused him to be lame in his feet. David wanted to show kindness to Jonathan, and did so by treating Mephibosheth kindly. What you will notice in this story of restoration, though David did everything in his power to restore to Mephibosheth what was Saul's, one thing David could not restore was the ability for him to walk again.
Restoration does have limits. I believe in restoration because I believe God wants people to be able to have the capacity to serve Him again. God is certainly in the restoration business. God restored David after he fell. God restored Peter after he fell. God restored Samson after he fell. Even the prodigal son received restoration when he embarrassed his father and rebelled. Every person should make an effort at restoring the fallen because they never know if one day they may fall themselves. Sin hits everyone. Therefore, we should do everything in our power to try to restore people to the limit that we have power to restore. There were several things that David restored to Mephibosheth.
First, David restored the right spirit to Mephibosheth. David said, "Fear not." He wanted Mephibosheth to understand that he would have the right spirit towards him. One of the first things that should be restored to the fallen is for you to have a right spirit towards them. You should not have a spirit of anger, malice, superiority or of judgment, but you should have a spirit that will try to help them come back. The fallen are skittish of what people think about them already, so you must work at being sure they understand that you are not going to sit in judgement of them, but you are going to do your best to have the right spirit that will help them.
Second, David restored the right to blessings. David gave back to Mephibosheth everything that was Saul's. Likewise, when you are trying to restore people, give them the right to receive blessings again. In other words, don't punish them for the rest of their life. Let them earn the right to be used again. Just because they fell doesn't mean that they can't earn their way back to usefulness. Everybody should have the right to be used again if they will get right with God.
Third, David restored fellowship to Mephibosheth. You will notice that Mephibosheth was able to eat daily at the king's table. Likewise, the act of restoration should restore fellowship to the fallen. Yes, fellowship should be broken when they are in sin, but when they come back to God they need fellowship. Always welcome back the fallen when they come back to God.
However, though David tried to restore Mephibosheth everything, he could not restore the usefulness of his feet. Why? Because there are consequences to sin. You will never be able to come back to where you once were when you chose to sin. You can choose your sin, but you can't choose your consequences. People deserve the right to be restored, but they will never get back everything they once had. You forfeit some things when you sin, that is why there are limits to restoration.
Yes, you should do your best to restore people, but always remember there are limits to what can be restored. If you fall into sin, remember that you will never be able to go back to having everything you once had. Let this story of restoration teach you how to restore, and warn you of sin's consequences.