DINNER'S READY

We had only been married a couple of years. It was my birthday, but my usually thoughtful husband had not mentioned it. No card. No "Happy Birthday" when he called at lunch. No mention of a special dinner out as usual. Nothing. Nada. So I assumed he had forgotten.

Hurt and terribly wounded, I decided to just take my time getting home. I went shopping, ran a few errands, and just generally had a pity party.

When I arrived home, I found my husband trying to keep warm a delicious steak dinner he had taken off early to prepare, roses on a beautifully set table and of course, the usual card and gift. I was so sorry that I had doubted him and ruined his special plans. He was waiting for his bride and she failed to show. (or almost anyway)

From the time I was a little girl, I have had a love of beautiful tablescapes. Our church has begun a tradition of decorating tables for a holiday dinner and choir program at CHRISTmas called Tis His Season. The first year it began I was one of the first to volunteer! I LOVE IT!!!! To walk into that room and see all of those beautifully decorated tables will take your breath away!! It is a sight to behold.

There is a website that I ran across a few years ago called Between Naps on the Porch (there is a link on this page). It features dozens of gorgeous tablescapes. It is a feast for the eyes.

To me, when someone sets a table like that, it says that they are anticipating your presence and they want you to feel special and honored and cherished. And, when someone goes to that much trouble to make that kind of presentation, you can generally bet that they won't be serving hot dogs and chips. The food will be equally delectable and eye-pleasing as the table it will be served on.

Our pastor, who loves to create 'visuals', had a beautiful table set on stage this morning, complete with roses as the centerpiece, candles, china and delicate crystal. He used it to remind us that every day Jesus sets the table for us to come and dine with Him, to feast upon His word and to "break bread" with Him. And sadly, many days He waits and waits and waits and we are 'no-shows'. The next day, however, He once again prepares the table and waits, hoping we will find the time.

I wonder how long He sits at the table while He watches us pass right by on our way to the TV or the gym or the golf course? I wonder if tears stream down His face as we choose the stale crumbs of the newspaper or our magazines instead of feasting on the filet mignon of His Word. Does it not grieve His heart to see how we grow weaker and weaker from our "malnutrition" while all the nutrition we could possibly want is right at our fingertips, yet we choose not to partake?

He tells us in the Lord's Prayer that we are to have "daily" bread....not just occasionally or just on Sundays. He fed the children of Israel daily with manna and quail for 40 years! His Word is our life source and if we are to be healthy, vibrant Christians, we must feed upon it. II Timothy 3:16 reminds us that God's Word is "profitable for doctrine (so we'll know what we believe), for reproof (to show us where we've gone wrong), for correction (to show us how to make it right) and for instruction in righteousness (how we are supposed to live.) It is our instruction book, if you will, on the Christian life. If we do not open it, how can we know what God expects of us? If we do not feed upon it, we will miss all the rich treasures He has stored up for us. It is also His "love letter" to us, reminding us of how much He loves us and how faithful He is to us.

Today, won't you come to His table and partake of the banquet He has prepared for you? He is waiting just for you to join Him, to sit a while with Him, to enjoy His presence and to feast upon the "spiritual food" He has selected just for today's journey. Don't settle for the crumbs of the world, when you could be dining on the feast of Heaven.