I’m a pretty self confident person normally. I can be in most situations and feel like I can hold my own. However, when I went to my first executive meeting at a major corporation, I got my confidence wrecked. The guy presenting before me couldn’t defend his projections for the next quarter. The higher ups questioned him and exposed him like nothing I had ever seen. He ended up getting tears in his eyes and shut down in front of everyone. They turned to me and said, “Next!” I don’t remember what I said or how I got through it, but that meeting left a mark. Every time after that, when I walked into a board room with a giant table full of suits sitting at it, I felt like I didn’t belong there. I became quiet and meek. When they asked what I thought about something, inside I wondered why they cared what little, old me cared about.
In 2 Samuel 9, King David asked if any of Jonathan’s relatives were still alive so that he could show kindness to them and to fulfill his promise to his best friend. They told him about Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth who became paralyzed when he was dropped as a child as they were on the run. David asked for him to be brought in. In those days, when a new king took over, they killed everyone who could possibly have a claim to the throne. Mephibosheth would have been second in line and was terrified to meet with David. When he arrived, David gave him all of Saul’s land and invited him to dine at the king’s table. In verse 8 Mephibosheth replied, “Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?” (NLT) He didn’t feel like he belonged at that table, but he began to eat there anyway.
After Peter had denied Jesus three times, Jesus appeared to him and the other disciples on the Galilean seashore in John 12. He called out to them and when they arrived at shore, He invited them to come and dine. I’m sure Peter didn’t feel like he belonged at the Lord’s Table, but Jesus gently gave him the charge to feed His sheep. Just like Peter and Mephibosheth, we can feel unworthy to sit at the King’s table because of things we’ve done. We can try to minimize our status as King’s kids, but there is a place for you there. Jesus is reminding us like He did Peter that it’s His righteousness that we wear, not our own. No matter what you’ve done, once it’s covered by His blood, it’s gone and there’s a seat waiting for you. Don’t shy away from God’s Table. Don’t feel you’re not enough to be there. You have been raised to new life and have been given a new nature and are clothed with a robe of Christ’s righteousness now. Don’t hold back. Come and dine. You have a seat at the table.
Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 