“So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table. And he was lame in both his feet” (2 Samuel 9:13)

This arrangement was because of the love between David and Jonathan, the father of Mephibosheth. David and Jonathan were kindred spirits. They saw each other with spiritual eyes, and made a covenant of love, and swore an oath: “May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever” (1 Samuel 20:42).
After David was made king, he asked, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" He was told, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet”. People identified Mephibosheth by his deformity. He saw himself as worthless.

If it weren’t for the covenant, Mephibosheth would be considered an enemy of David, but because of the covenant, David treated Jonathan’s son as if he were Jonathan himself. Mephibosheth wasn’t pleasant to look at, and probably wasn’t a sparkling conversationalist, but he had one thing that assured him a place at David’s table: when King David looked at him, he saw Jonathan.

If you’re born of the Holy Spirit, you’re the offspring of Christ, and this is why God loves you. Long before the foundation of the world, the Father and the Son made a covenant by which the offspring of Christ would be treated as if they were Christ Himself. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world … having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself” (Ephesians 1:4-5).