Devotions for Kids: A Place at the Table

Devotions for Kids is a series meant for sharing so that everyone - family and community - can spend time in God's Word together with the children in their lives and grow in faith.

...blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.

Luke 14:14

When was the last time you weren't invited to sit at the table and eat dinner with your family?  My guess is that this has never happened to you, and that's a good thing!  Having a place at the table means that you belong, you are accepted, and you have people in your life who love you just the way you are. 

It may seem silly to think about ideas like not being invited to dinner, but in Jesus's time, this problem was very real for many people.  When Jesus was ministering, appearances meant a lot.  So, when someone didn't look like everyone else or acted differently, it was common for that person to be excluded.  These people were often not welcomed to the tables of others and didn't have a place among people who thought it was more important to look good than to care about what others needed or felt.  Think about what it would feel like if you knew all your friends were sitting around a table celebrating someone's birthday with cake, balloons, and games, but you weren't invited because the host didn't like your shoes.  Not a fun thought, right?

Jesus wants us all to love and give each other a place at the table, whether that means an actual table where we share meals together or at the table of friendship and community.  He wants us to do this because it is exactly what He does for us!  At Jesus's table, everyone is welcome regardless of what we look like, what we wear, where we are from, or even how smart or how fun we think we are.  And do you know what the best part is?  He gives us this blessing for free, even though we could never possibly be as generous to God as He is to us. 

We are loved with a love so big that nothing we do, say, or think can ever stop us from being able to pull up a chair and be in God's company.  How can you invite others to the tables in your life in the same way?

Let's pray:  God, I am so grateful that with You, I belong.  Thank You for always welcoming me, always listening to me, and always loving me.  I know that I have a place at Your table now and forever, and I promise to do my best to make sure others know I welcome them into my life too!  Amen.