When God is throwing a party, you never know who will be there or who you will sit next to…..
The financier will be seated next to the panhandler he always passed on his way to work. The store owner will be next to the person he just fired, and the doctor will be put next to the woman who just sued him for malpractice. A prostitute will sit next to Pope Francis.
All the “right” people will be there — that is everyone who responds to God’s invitation … and seated next to the host who is Jesus. In the places of honor are not the dignitaries, the celebrities, the distinguished people of position and prominence, but rather the poor, the hurting, the outcast — people who have distinguished themselves only by their need.
Everyone will get along famously. At that Banquet Feast, you and I may well find ourselves seated next to, and engaging in conversation with, people we presently can’t stand (or who can’t stand us). But the old anger, hurt, and grudges will be gone, and reconciliation will come.
At God’s Table, the barriers that keep people apart — rich/poor, upper class/lower class, black/white, Republican/Democrat, gay/straight, friend/foe, the dividing walls of hostility will come smashing down. The crash will be greater than the fall of the Berlin Wall. God’s Banquet Feast will be the most remarkable party ever thrown!
Special thanks to Martin Copenhaver, Alex Gondola, Jr. and Brett Blair for these thoughts on God’s Banquet Feast.
Who do YOU think will be sitting with YOU at God’s Banquet Feast? Do YOU think there will be any big surprises?
DEATH TAKES THE BODY. GOD TAKES THE SOUL. OUR MIND HOLDS THE MEMORIES. OUR HEART KEEPS THE LOVE. OUR FAITH LETS US KNOW WE WILL MEET AGAIN!
