COME AND DINE

"John 21:12a  "Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast"."

In Southwest Louisiana, where I was born and spent the majority of my life,  hospitality was such an important part of our culture.  When people came to visit, if it was a short visit, you always put a pot of coffee on.  If they were there at meal time, it was assumed that they would dine with you.  There was always plenty, for most meals had rice and gravy and you just added some more meat to the pot.  You always made sure your guests did not go away hungry.  It was an intimate time of fellowship with good friends.  Good conversation always flowed around the table.  If there had been misunderstandings or hardships between you, they could always be settled over a good meal and restoration of the friendship or family member was a certainty.

This is what the Lord showed me today.  Several times in the Word, the Lord shares a meal with people.  It was a time for Him to share Himself with those closest to Him; a time to be a Light to those that did not know Him as well, those He wanted to get to know Him better.  The Lord knew mealtime was a relaxed time and it was a time for people to be comfortable with Him and draw to Him. 

After Peter betrayed the Lord, and the Lord appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, He invited them to come and sit with Him, to share a meal of the fish they had caught.  He cooked for them.  Can you picture this, our precious Lord cooking a meal for His beloved friends.  Drawing them to Him, Peter especially, serving them, giving them honor by cooking for them, dining with them.  As He ate with them, He was restoring their strength, sharing again Himself with them before He went to the Father.  Food is eaten to restore our bodies, returning to our bodies the nutrients that we lose during the day, just through life.  But when the Lord feeds you, He is feeding you more than food for the restoration of your body.

The table of the Lord, the one to which you are invited, is a table set with food, but the food on His table is not just bread, fish or meat.  It is the bread of life, that only comes from our Lord; nowhere else can you receive eternal life but at His table.  The meat is the meat of His Word, the truth, the Light of which comes from His sacrifice, His death.  The wine, is the blood that was shed for our redemption, to pay for our sins, to deliver us from a life of sin and death.  This table, this beautifully set table, it's food the food of eternal life, the food that will fill and fill and fill; you will never leave His table hungry. 

At this table, where our Lord Jesus presides as the Head, there is the most intimate conversation, words that draw you closer and closer to Him, words of love that pour an oil of restoration over you, healing oil that restores your strength, gives you hope for all your tomorrows, heals your body, heals your spirit and fills you with the most indescribable joy.  When you leave the Lord's table, He only asks one thing of you, "Feed my sheep", "Feed my sheep".  He wants you to share the meal you received from Him with others, people that cannot for some reason come to Him and dine, people that have been so oppressed by the enemy they cannot see the Light for themselves.  You must be that Light, you must show them the Lord's love and mercy.  You will be the drawing element to the Lord for them.  You must let them see Jesus in you, and then when the time is ready and they are so yearning to meet Jesus, you will extend the Lord's invitation to "Come and Dine".

My Lord, I thank You for the many times You have invited me to Come and Dine with You.  I thank You for restoring me so often with the bread, the meat, the wine that You prepared just for me.  I thank You for the intimate fellowship I share with You.  This 7th day of July, 2011, I know that whenever I come, I am never turned away without being served at Your Table of Restoration.  I am never sent away hungry, as I am restored with Your grace, Your love and Your joy.