The table is a remarkable thing. Think about all that has happened around tables throughout history. Battle lines were drawn around a table. Peace treaties have been agreed upon around a table. People have gotten their dream job because of an interview that took place around a table. It holds up food, homework, bills, board games, and really anything you can fit on top of it.
The table is a remarkable thing.
This Thanksgiving you may find yourself sitting around a remarkable table. Now, it may not feel remarkable....but it is. It's not remarkable because of the paint or the design. Those things fade. You see, I know you will be sitting around a remarkable table because of the people at the table. All of them. Even you. That's why tables are always remarkable.
So this Thanksgiving (or really anytime you find yourself at a table), open your eyes. Like really open them. See the people around the table with you. Notice their uniqueness, their sense of humor, how they attack that food on their plate...in the end, notice them. Be intentional about seeing them.
That person is remarkable.
Don't just take my word for it. We know they/you are remarkable because of this other moment that happened around a table a long time ago. A table that was similar to your table.
This one night, Jesus was eating with His friends and stands up and He changes the course of the meal....and in the end He changes the course of history.
In the middle of the meal it says,
"...Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying,
“Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matt. 26: 26-28
Do you see it? Don't miss it. It was in this moment that Jesus began to usher in what was planned since the beginning of time. It's the moment that created a spot for you at an even better table- God's table. It was a remarkable plan for a remarkable world.
Within just a few hours after this Last Supper scene, Jesus would be put on a cross to die. Hear me though, He did all this because He thinks you, everyone around your table, and everyone around your neighbor's table is remarkable.
He thinks you are worth it.
This Thanksgiving, open your eyes to see the people around your table the same way Jesus sees you and sees them. Jesus' life and death is a reminder that to God we are not defined by our political stances, our pasts, our sins, or our pains.....
We are His.
We are remarkable because He is remarkable and He remarkably loves us.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17
