I was invited to the Friends of Mercy Luncheon this past week, which is a time to learn more about the organization, learn about how we can help and meet the girls and take in the beauty of the home that draws them nearer to Jesus. My team joined me at the lunch as they had yet to fully see the home and all the details. We enjoyed croissant sandwiches and salad and heard a few testimonies of those who were in the home and had graduated. It was a simply sweet time, full of excitement from the girls to the overcrowded guests in attendance.
As I sat down to eat, the reminder of setting The Table came to mind.
The first time we brought session one of our Inspire Gatherings to Mercy Multiplied, we carefully put our supplies down and got everything situated in its space. We took each handout and canvas and water cup and laid them in each place setting. As we set the table for them, the Lord sweetly whispered, you’re setting the table for them, as I set the table for you.
Jesus tells us in his Father’s house there are many rooms and he is going to prepare a place for us. Luke 14 points us to the parable of the feast. We are all invited to the feast; into salvation and relationship with Jesus. Yet not all who are invited will come.
Throughout our days, we are also putting out place settings and inviting others to the feast. We are given opportunities for others to come to know Christ. Some directly each day – our children, our spouse, our significant other, our extended family or co-workers, while others are indirectly or even unnoticed. The cashier at the grocery store or the librarian. The uber driver or waiter. Our everyday actions reference this invitation and either shows its glory or otherwise.
We all have opportunities to invite others to our table. To The Table. How we send out the invite and how we set the table matters. How we love is intricately woven in to the threads of the napkins and coils of the place mats. How our actions follow in step with our Lord can be reflected in how full our glass is, whether brimming to overflowing or running dry. We get to choose with each passing day what our table setting looks like and whether we are truly living in the sweet spot.
Praying this month you will see ways to invite others in to the little things around you, ultimately showing love and pointing towards Jesus. Praying you will send out invites to the feast, opening up your table, despite its small size or mismatched dishware or lack of décor. It’s the invitation that is the key and heart behind it all.
Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God. Luke 14:1
Originally posted in The Inspire Monthly newsletter, August 2017.