7th Floor Devotional Day 9: ”Reclaiming our Tables”

DEVOTIONAL DAY 9 - “Reclaiming our Tables.”

Food and the table figured prominently in the life of Jesus. There is something special about inviting people into our homes for a meal. It is different from a cup of coffee at Starbucks because in your home, around your table, surrounded by your family, there is an intimacy shared that can not be obtained from a meal elsewhere. It is an invitation into your life.

In many parts of the world, there is nothing more central than a meal together. I have had meals in the Middle East, for instance, that start at 9:00pm and finish at 2:00am (T.J Addington). During that time, there is great food, loud laughter, major disagreements and debates, more food, more laughter, times of levity, and times of serious conversation. 

Read the Gospels, and you find Jesus at dinner parties regularly. He knew many of the most significant conversations happened in someone's home. In fact, Jesus was regularly criticized by the company He kept at the table. 

Hospitality is a lost art in some circles. We can be private and insular, focused on our own lives. But Jesus taught a new way: A way of radical hospitality. And who was there? Friends and strangers. Those who He wanted to spend time with and those who wanted to spend time with Him. Here is the God of the universe breaking bread and drinking wine with those many despised in society. 

Why? Because in that intimate setting, the things of life get talked about. We realize that the struggles of others are our struggles as well. We also have the opportunity to develop deeper relationships which lead to deeper conversations. 

How intentional are you in inviting people to your table? Not just close friends and family but others that you meet? No one who comes will ever forget your gracious hospitality. And, it may well open opportunities for eternal conversations. So, become a person of the table as Jesus was, and your life will be more prosperous as you enrich others.

Here is your prayer for today: Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. I pray that you would transform my heart and mind so that I might be a person of the table, opening my life and home to all those you send my way. In Jesus' name. Amen.