A Whole New Life
Don’t just invite people to your table, invite them to meet Jesus!
“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.””
The kitchen table has always played an important role in our home. It has been a place for us to gather, share stories and meals, pray, cry, and laugh. But when I think about the importance of coming together for meals with family or friends, to share traditions and good times, there is something more to it, an even deeper meaning.
Far more than a flat surface upon which we dine, the kitchen table can be the heartbeat of a family. It’s a place to gather, to talk, and to reconnect. Parents look back on the times spent around the kitchen table when their kids were growing up and long to recreate those memories with their children. But what exactly is it that makes the kitchen table so important to the family? Though the legacy has grown over the years, even in today’s contemporary world, the modest kitchen table continues to be a center of activity. Meals and even snacks are prepared at it, homework is done, and games are played around it. When company comes over, they gravitate into the kitchen to keep their host company and naturally sit at the table to relax
The kitchen table has done double and triple duty. Even before electricity found its way into our homes, the kitchen table would be used for homework, sewing and other household tasks. Meals were prepared there, children were taught there, and families grew and matured as the kitchen table silently watched. Considering how much time early American families spent gathered around this basic wooden structure, it’s no wonder that people continue to feel drawn to the kitchen table.
But hospitality is not just about the table. It’s about the people. It is about breaking bread together. It’s ultimately about the GOSPEL.
Jesus is the Ultimate Inviter. And what He invites us to is not just a gathering, not just a meal, but a whole new life.
The Gospel is life-giving. Hospitality is actively seeking to share that life with others. It is taking the gift of new life we have in Christ and giving it away with intention and enthusiasm.
As followers of Jesus, it is our privilege, our responsibility, and our JOY to invite people to the Gospel. When Jesus gathered His disciples for their Last Supper together, just a short time before His death, He invited them to remember. Remember Who He is. Remember what He had done and what He was going to do. Remember that their "Why" in this life had forever changed. And what were the symbols Jesus used at the table that day? Bread and wine because He is the Bread of Life. He is our sustenance. He was broken for us so we might live eternally with him.
Jesus welcomes us to His table for a life of AMAZING communion with Him. He joyfully anticipates us and unreservedly welcomes us. In turn, we welcome others—all others—to more than just the dining room table of our dreams. We welcome them to the table of our Savior.
This is the Table that changes lives.
This is the Table that offers forgiveness, acceptance and unconditional love.
This is the Table surrounded with beggars-turned-brothers and sisters of the Risen One which is Christ our Lord.
That’s us, friends! We are the ones who have been welcomed, and that is why we welcome.
As we take all we’ve learned about hospitality in God’s Word and apply it to our hearts and lives, may we remember the WHY of our invitation. May we remember Who is truly extending the invitation to those around us.
Let’s not just invite people to the table. Let’s invite them to Jesus.
