One of the greatest joys of this last trip to California was sitting in the home of our son and daughter-in-law celebrating our grandson’s 16th birthday. We sat around a table, the entire family along with my brother who joined us. There were ten of us and I don’t know exactly who started it but while we ate we began to tell “family tales.” My brother and I came from a very dysfunctional family and we had plenty of tales to tell. Our own family had a few of their own to add also.
The laughter began; sometimes so much so we could not catch our breath. (My brother and I learned a long time ago to turn much of our troublesome experiences growing up into humor. It’s a survival technique that we have refined quite well).
There is nothing as precious as a family meal accompanied by laughter and lightheartedness. It was one of the most blessed times on this trip.
Jesus’ invitation to the church at Laodicea is very familiar. We have probably even seen drawings of Jesus standing at a door and knocking. It is an invitation to salvation. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” [Rev 3:20]
But this morning as I read that invitation, I was drawn to the second part of it … not only will Jesus come in with salvation, He will “eat” with us. He will fellowship with us. Together we will sit at the table and we will share “family tales.” He will tell us of all the times we were rescued when we weren’t even aware of danger. He will tell us of His love. He will speak of the “joy that was set before Him” as He endured the cross. We will laugh, we will cry tears of joy. It will be the most precious time.
