It’s a feast! Picture the table
packed with delicious foods, all of the smells mingling together and
making your stomach growl. There are chairs at the table, in
front on one, you see a place card beautifully engraved with your
name. Is this for real or is it only a dream? Who would
have gone to all this trouble for you?
Unsure
of what to do, you stand back, bewildered. Suddenly, you hear a
deep, warm voice joyfully call your name. “Come and eat!” the
voice commands.
Still
amazed, you quickly approach the table. Standing in front of the
table, your eyes can’t believe the abundance of all this wonderful
food. You fill your plate until it’s heaping with all of your
favorite foods. Eagerly, you grab your fork, scooping up a large
bite. Before you can put it in your mouth, a different voice
rings out, “Wait a minute! STOP! HOLD IT!” Immediately, you put
down your fork and look up in confusion. Very gently, a man in a
tuxedo hands you a different plate, explaining apologetically, “Sorry,
here is your dinner.” You stare at this plate. One it is
one grim-looking mound of food that you suspect was yesterday’s
leftovers. Quietly, the waiter disappears from sight.
Apparently, the feast was not meant for you. Disheartened, you
pick up your fork and starting eating the leftovers.
It
is hard to ignore all the wonderful aromas around you. Never
again do you try reaching for any of the scrumptious food on the
table. You just settle for what is given to you. Soon, your
plate is empty. You have finished eating, but it sure wasn’t
satisfying.
As
you prepare to leave the table, you gaze longingly for a last time at
the untouched feast. At that moment, a stranger dashes in, races
up to the table, grabs a fistful of food. As you stare at him in
amazement, he flashes you a quick smile, checks his watch, and
exclaims, “Gotta run!” Before you can comprehend what is
happening, he zipped out the door, gobbling the food.
You
excuse yourself and find your way home for the night. As you are
drifting off to sleep, wistful memories of the banquet fill you with a
sense of emptiness. You know you’ll never see a feast like that
again.
And
yet, day after day, the same impossible thing happens: you find the
amazing feast suddenly spread before you, you fill your plate with the
fine foods, but the waiter stops you before you can eat. Every
time, you end up with the drab pile of leftovers. Day after day,
the stranger whips in, grabs a fistful of something from the table, and
whips out, eating on the run.
This
same thing happens every day to a lot of Christians. God has so
very much. He wants to give up. But most of all, He wants to give
us Himself. His Presence is like the table overflowing with all
of the food. He is just waiting for you to come and join the
feast. He wants to give you not only His blessings, but also
Himself.
He
is calling you by name to this feast. He wants you to trust that
the fullness of the feast is for you, and that anyone who tries to
persuade you to otherwise is not sent from Him. Instead of
trusting other voices, we are to listen only to His.
There
will also be times when we allow ourselves to become so busy,
frantically preoccupied with running our lives, that all we choose to
give Him is what’s left of ourselves and our time. He is there
waiting patiently for us, hoping each moment that we won’t be satisfied
with the s craps of Him that we grab as we are running out the door to
our lives, but will be hungry for more of Him. He wants us to
come and eat until we are full. The table is full of all the food
that He knows we need to grow into the image of His Son.
So
don’t just settle for the leftovers, or for a quick bite on the
run. He knows everything we need and find delightful. He
has already prepared it for us, and He is eagerly anticipating our
arrival to be with Him and enjoy the feast. He is our portion.
For His Glory
Written by Cindy Price
For more from Cindy, or to obtain a copy of her book, "For His Glory", please email Cindy at forhisglorycp@yahoo.com
