“Did you get an invite?” Jeremy asked sarcastically.  Elizabeth responded, “What!?” Jeremy interrupted, “Can you believe some man with special needs gets to eat a meal in the palace with Prince William any time he likes?!  It made the news!” Elizabeth clicked the telly, “You mean that homeless man we pass on the way to Starbucks every morning?” Jeremy smiled.

Though that exchange is fictional, you can’t tell me that thousands of years ago, people were not talking about a lame man who sat at a table normally reserved for royalty.  Here’s the facts…

“Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, (pronounced mu-fib-o-sheth) who was crippled as a child.  He was five years old when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle.  When the child’s nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped him, and he became crippled.”  “One day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive-anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

King David learned that one of Jonathan’s sons was still alive. “When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in deep respect. David said, “Greetings, Mephibosheth.” “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king’s table!” “And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David’s table, like one of the king’s own sons.” (2 Samuel 4:4; 9:1, 6b-7; 11b NLT)

I envision another table.  A countless number of chairs are on each side with one chair at one end.  The other end of the table is endless. The King extended an invitation to fellowship with Him at the table.  

I took my seat, but kept my head down. I eventually raised it and looked around. An infinite number of diverse people were sitting to my left and to my right and across from me.  The King called each person by name. When it was my turn, I walked to the King’s chair. I got on my knees and bowed before…King Jesus.

He raised my chin with his right index finger.  He looked me in the eye and smiled the biggest smile I had ever witnessed. Tears of joy raced each other down my face. Jesus said, “I have chosen you.  I have adopted you. I have forgiven you.  I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”

Folks, it’s not fiction!  A lot of church people today either don’t know or don’t believe their spiritual identity.  In The Birthright John Sheasby reminds us, “As an heir of the new covenant, you are no longer a servant.  You are a son or a daughter, the apple of your Father’s eye. As His child, you have nothing to fear.”  

Come to the table. He is waiting for your RSVP.

pictures courtesy of “Nelson & his Nikon”