Invited To Sit At The Table
Sunday evening one of the ladies in our care group shared a wonderful story of a 9 or 10 year old child that had gone to his parents and expressed a desire to be baptized. If you have older children you have been where these parents were, and if your children are still young, you will be where they were. The parents were not sure if they felt their son was ready to be baptized so they ask their youth minister to talk to him.
In the meeting with the youth minister, he asks their son if he was familiar with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He said he was. The youth minister reminded him that the Knights all sat at the table with the King and that their commitment was so strong to each other that they would not only die protecting their King, but each other. It was a “One for all, and all for one” type of commitment. The boy assured him that he understood that. The youth minister then asks him an interesting question. If the King were Jesus and you were invited to sit at the round table with Him using a clock dial to describe the seat locations, and Jesus is sitting at 12 noon, which number of the dial would you choose to sit? The young man after giving it some thought said, “I would sit at 5:00 o’clock”.
The youth minister then expressed that he felt their son was ready. He went on to explain that children who do not understand there sin will say they want to sit right beside Jesus, but those who are developing an awareness of sin and that it separates us from God will always choose to sit some distance away from Jesus. Interesting isn’t it?
While I may be very comfortable with my relationship and walk with Jesus in this life, there is always that consciousness of my short comings and sinful nature. I think that to be confronted with deity in its white hot purity would cause me to have the same reaction the Apostle John had. “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.” Rev. 1:17a. A healthy awareness of our sin and how we fall short will keep our pride in check and never allow us to become arrogant concerning our position in Christ.
I am just so amazed that I would ever be invited to sit at the table at all.
