Casandra Martin

What is your favorite piece of furniture in your house? Book cases rank pretty high on my list. I have some furniture from my grandmother that is special. I am reminded that I love my bed every time I travel away from home. But my favorite piece of furniture would have to be the kitchen table. As far as furniture goes, it isn’t valuable or fancy. It is a hand-me-down from a neighbor who saw me eyeing it at a garage sale. What makes my kitchen table special is what happens when we gather around it. My table is a place for family. We eat, pray, laugh, and make memories at our table. We create space at the table for friends to join us. Relationships are built, confidences shared, work accomplished, and even tears shed as we sit around it. A lot of learning is done at our table, along with family discussions, planning, and playing. Everybody has a spot at the table. Each person in our family knows where they belong, that they belong, and that there will always be a chair for them there. At the table, traditions are established, love shared, and grace is extended.

With all that happens around the table, it is no wonder that heaven is pictured as a time when we gather around the table of the King. At His table, we all have a place. We belong there as children in His family, and the time together will be full of joy. Everyone is welcome at His table. There is more than enough room, enough love, enough provision, and enough acceptance. At His table, we will celebrate. We will celebrate His glory. We will honor the Lamb. We will sing songs of rejoicing, and tell each other the stories of redemption that brought us to His table. We practice sitting at His table each time we join Him in communion. Those moments get our hearts ready for the banquet that awaits the family of God.

My Jesus Resolution today is to sit at my table and dream. Today I have the opportunity to make my table a place that points my family to heaven. I don’t want to rush our time at the table. I want to cherish the chairs that hold the souls most precious to my heart. I want to experience the reality that Jesus is with us at our table, joining in our conversations, laughing at our silly family jokes, and strengthening the bonds that hold us together. Our tables are more than tables. They are places to meet God and dream of heaven.