Lunchtable Theology | Wednesday | 9/16

You Can’t Sit at the Table Without Belonging

Romans 12:4–5

We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other.

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In Jesus’ world, eating together meant something.

Who you ate with told people who you belonged to.

The same is true in the parable. The wedding garment was not merely about looking nice. It represented association with the community gathered around the King.

The guest without the garment appears to want the benefits of the feast without the belonging that comes with it.

In other words:

I want the meal, but I don’t want to be one of you.

That is a temptation in faith too.

We may want forgiveness without community.

Grace without surrender.

Jesus without His people.

The Kingdom without its way of life.

But Christ does not merely invite us to consume something He offers.

He invites us to belong.

And belonging means allowing our lives to become intertwined with the life of Christ and with one another.

Reflect: 

Are there parts of Christian community you want the benefits of without allowing them to shape your life?

Pray: 

Jesus, do not let me stand at the edge of your Kingdom as a consumer. Draw me into genuine belonging. Teach me to give myself fully to you and to your people. Amen.