H2O college ministries

I was disturbed by a passage the other day that challenged me at my core.  It was an interesting moment because it was one of those days, when everything you encounter, what you see and hear, all seem to be teaching you one specific message.  Ya, that was this day.  It wrecked me. 

So, I am reading a great book, The Jesus Creed (must read), and I was reading early on about The Shema and the Table Fellowship.  The concept was simple, who is around you.  Who do you allow in, who do you keep out.  Who do you eat with?  Who do you associate with?  People simply like you?  Or ‘those’ people?  Pure people or impure people?  Scot McKnight uses some of Jesus’ examples to break that mold in our life.  Especially the one when Jesus went to a party early on and was hanging out with drinkers, cusers, prostitutes and what not.  He got the nickname a “friend of sinners”  and “drunkard”.  I wonder if he got other names that weren’t put into Scripture.  Those who judged Jesus, wouldn’t associate with those people because they weren’t ‘pure’.  They may of associated with them, if they got pure first.  Maybe.

Then from there, I read a story in 2 Samuel chapter 19.  King David, a powerful King, wanted to fulfill a promise that he made with his best friend, who at the time, was the prince of Israel, Jonathan.  Jonathan’s dad was the King (Saul) and David was annointed by God to be the next King.  Saul got jealous and tried to kill David multiple times with no avail.  David promised that his family would have a spot still.  During some time and bloodshed, all of Saul’s house was killed except this one fella, a male in Saul’s family, whose was crippled.  Very awkward type of fella.  David, had him reinstated as royalty and had him eat at the King’s table every day for the rest of his life.  A cripple sitting at the table of the elite.  He was a peasant type of guy, not one of great class.

Now, that you got the background, Mephibosheth (cripple’s name) said this to David, “All my grandfather’s descendents deserved nothing but death from my lord the king, but you gave your servant a place among those who eat at your table.  So what right do I have to make any more appeals to the king?”

Doesn’t seem like much, but, I sort of felt like saying that to God, who has allowed me to sit and eat at His table.  I have deserved nothing but death and He has given me a place among others who eat at His table.  What more can I ask?

Then I thought, what more can I do?  I can invite others to eat at my table.  Do not just associate with those who are my type, who are what I would consider ‘good with God’.  We tend to wait for others to change before we can associate with them.  But with Jesus, that change happened while he associated and ate with them.

we have been invited a table of love.  .::do likewise::.