by Dan Jones
As you may remember, last week I wrote an incredibly biased blog in defense of Contemporary Christian Music.
Shortly thereafter, I was listening to one of the songs I mentioned in that blog and a couple of lines left me astounded and overcome.
The song is “Come as You Are” by David Crowder and it repeatedly urges us to lay down our burdens, to come find mercy, to come and kneel, to lay down our hurt, to lay down our hearts, to stop wandering and come home. And then it says:
Come sit at the table
Come taste the grace.
Come taste the grace.
And as those two simple lines ran through my head, in my mind’s eye, I had a vision of sitting at an immense table with the Father, the Spirit, with Jesus, and with all the believers—like a family sitting down to supper.
There was a soft, golden glow to the scene and I was overwhelmed with a sense of peace and comfort and warmth and safety and love.
And I felt at home.
I felt like I was with family.
And I realized that thisis what those verses meant about being children of God adopted into His family.
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15 ESV)
And, sitting at the table with me were people just like me. People who had wandered far, far away and wasted the gifts He had given us on sinful things until we found ourselves slopping somebody else’s hogs and wishing we just had a taste of the garbage those hogs were eating– because that would be better than where our stupid choices had taken us.
And when we had realized that, and come back in shame and dejection, He had seen us coming a long way off and run to meet us. And, even though we would be willing to be His slaves, He hugged each one of us and kissed us and put a robe on us and sandals on our feet and a ring on our finger and declared that we were his living child!
And He threw a great banquet for us where the whole family sat at the table and rejoiced in a Father who has the mercy and the grace to never stop loving us.
And at that table where the whole family is gathered, there is bread and there is wine.
And we are reminded that the Son, the only begotten Son, gave his very own body and blood to make us sons and daughters in this family.
We are reminded that love wins because it is the greatest love that ever was or over will be. It is a love that even death cannot kill. It is a love that triumphs over death.
The bread is raised up and it is blessed, and then it is broken, and the wine is poured out and all the members of the family share it with one another.
And there is rejoicing because we know that nothing can ever separate us from this great love– this family that God Himself created for the express purpose of nurturing and growing and fostering and multiplying an abounding, never-ending love.
And we know that we are home.
Finally.
Home.
Today’s Praise
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:11 NIV)
Beautiful !!!!! Thankyou Father GOD!