“Staying at the table”…….a phrase I heard years ago with regard to Christ’s patience with his disciples, even the one who would betray him, enduring their lack of understanding but knowing that they would eventually see the reason for all things. He continued to teach and model to them what was expected if they continued to follow him…his humble washing of their feet comes to mind….and even when they made rash and uninformed decisions, as Peter did in pulling out a s…word, cutting off an ear, and even denying knowing Christ, he persevered with him. Not just persevered, but redeemed and gave mercy and renewed purpose in Peter’s life. I am grateful that Christ perseveres with me, “staying at the table.” It is one of many reasons that I love the Lord and continue to follow him, even when I don’t understand or make rash and uninformed decisions. Thoughts on the coming Holy Week…… what attributes of God cause you to love and follow him? The fact that he loved us while we were yet sinners? That he is the God of all comfort? That he gives hope? That he is just and compassionate? What keeps you at the table?
On a similar note, as Holy Week and Easter looms just around the corner, I’m thinking about faces I won’t see at church Sunday….Marie Fluharty, Jean Kneebone, the Armitages, Bonnie Holloway, Stan Coston, Grafton Sharp, Carl Gaddis, Robert Lee, Winnie Blue, Stella Billingsley and others who are seated at a larger, more abundant table in eternity than even our most elegant and laden Easter feast tables. I am grateful for the examples among a generation that is disappearing from our sight, but we know that we continue in their sight….a “great cloud of witnesses” that continues and whom we someday will rejoin at the table!