A Message from My Mother's Table

On Sunday we did the traditional thing we do at Easter: we ate together as a family. We ate way too much, and afterwards, we were miserable, but it was so good. I'm guessing it's what many of you did as well. And if you're like me, you repented this morning for too much ham and too many helpings of potatoes, and today, maybe you ate a little less, or at least, I hope so. But in eating a big family dinner, I was reminded of many Easter Sundays, seated as a family at my mother's table. Those were really good times, and I learned some important things there.

At my mother's table, I learned to sit and be still. We spent many a Sunday sitting for hours after a meal, just talking as a family and spending time together. It's a part of my "home" family that I miss, but it's a tradition I'm extending into my own family.

At my mother's table, I felt peace. There were never controversial discussions . . . never arguments . . . just chatter, great Southern food, and relaxation. Pink-silk-pajama relaxation.

At my mother's table, I learned love. I looked forward to every meal, knowing that her table was a place of acceptance. It was a place of no pressure . . . just easy, comfortable, Southern love.

And from these lessons at Momma's table, I learned a thing or two about God, even though I didn't know it at the time. God wants us to come to His table, sit in His presence and just be still. He wants us to put on our "pajamas" and relax at His table, not rushing away to wash the dishes or put the food in the refrigerator. He just wants us to sit at His feet and bask in conversation with Him. He wants us to find peace in His presence, peace that passes understanding. Peace that the world won't understand but we do when we sit still and let God share His bounty with us.

And finally, when we hang out with God, we experience love. Complete, unconditional, amazing love. Love that we can't earn, love that we can't buy . . . passionate, fatherly, magnificent, sacrificial love. I felt that at my momma's table, and I feel it even more powerfully at the Father's table. I know complete, total love when I look on the cross, knowing what He sacrificed for me. I know merciful love when I approach the mercy seat and find Jesus there, waiting to enfold me in His grace. I know fatherly love when He allows me to drop to my knees and cry in His presence, casting all my cares on Him, because as the scripture says, He cares for us.

So I guess my momma's table was a pretty good forerunner for what I am experiencing with God today, and if you're hungry, come to God's table and take a seat. You will leave there, never to hunger and thirst again, filled with God's righteousness and His power.

"Braveheart" and Some Good Theology

It might surprise some of you who don't know me so well to find out that my taste in movies is, well, . . . a little intense. I love a great story of suspense combined with love, revenge, passion, and just enough blood to keep it real. "Braveheart" is one of my "top 3" of all time, and I have watched it over and over, never failing to be captured by the story of William Wallace, a man who lived a passionate life for family, friends, and country. The evil Longshanks had Wallace's wife killed, and in that one act, he set off rebellion the likes of which I'm sure he wished he had never seen. You see, Wallace was a man of passion: he loved deeply . . . his wife, his country, and a future of freedom from tyranny. I love him for his passion, and so I watch again and again. There is one scene that hasn't left my mind lately, and I think there is some theological truth in it if we look at it in terms of God.

When Longshanks is on the warpath to kill Wallace, his beautiful daughter-in-law, whose own life is a sham of an arranged marriage (to Longshanks' homosexual son), has fallen in love with Wallace. In one scene in which she has risked her own life to carry vital information to Wallace, we hear these lines:

William Wallace: Why do you help me?
Princess Isabelle: Because of the way you are looking at me now.

And that's where I can't tear my mind away from God.

Lately in my own life, I've been facing some really difficult situations, and through everything, God has been here. He has been faithful, and He has delivered my family and me over and over. He has never failed to let me feel His presence, and in my prayers, I have found myself saying to God, "Why do you help me?" I surely don't deserve it; I haven't earned it; and I can never repay Him for all He has done for me. So again, I ask, "God, why do You help me?" And His answer is always the same in my heart: "Because of the way you are looking at me now."

Now I don't want to get into trouble with my more knowledgeable friends, so let me be very clear: I know that God loved me even before He formed me in the womb. He loved me long before I fell in love with Him, and He sacrificed His only Son so you and I could be forgiven and free. But I also know another truth: scripture says that when we delight in the Lord, He hears our prayers and He will give us the desires of our hearts. And when I look at God, I delight in Him every single day, simply because He is God, my Father, and He loved me first. I didn't always feel that way, but I do today. I am passionately in love with our giant-slaying, stone-rolling, bush-burning, veil-tearing God! And it pleases Him when I delight in Him! He has used my passion for Him to turn my desires into His desires; He has changed my heart, and I know that He celebrates when I fall to my knees or walk in the beauty of a spring day, all the while declaring my love for Him, the only Master of the Universe. (A little aside there for my boys . . .)

Again today and tomorrow and tomorrow, I will ask, "God, why do You help me?", and I pray that you will ask Him the same question. Let Him answer you with His great love. Let Him answer you by pouring His blessings into your life. Let Him answer you by reminding you that He loves it when you love Him with unbridled passion, making Him the focus of your existence. Make Him your magnificent obsession, and watch Him show off with His amazing grace and His mighty power over your life . . . the same power that raised Jesus from the dead on resurrection morning.

William Wallace changed a country because of his passionate love. God changed the whole world for eternity, and today, I will look on Him with eyes that show my adoration and my humility at being privileged to be a child of the King! Join me in loving Him and sharing His love with everyone whose life can be changed by a Savior. We have been passed over by the Death Angel and have been given new life in Christ; pass it on!