A Word from Joni

The Messianic Banquet

For me, sitting at a table ain’t easy! It’s often a real challenge to fit my wheelchair underneath a dining room or restaurant table. Sometimes my knees bump the edge because the table is too low or my foot pedals hit a center post. When possible, my husband, Ken, unhooks a foot pedal and swings it aside so I can move in close enough. But if that doesn’t help, he has to feed me my meal. All of this is not very easy on Ken, but God has blessed him with a lot of grace.

I remember once when a maître d’ saw that I couldn’t fit under the table, and he really wanted to help. He quickly ran and got four phone books and put one under each of the legs of the table. Voilà! Within minutes, I was able to fit at the table and feed myself. Boy, you could see the delight in that man’s face; he felt so happy to have been of service!

I think about this as I read Luke 14, where Jesus says that we will be blessed when we “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” (14:13) to our dinner parties. The party Jesus is really talking about is the Kingdom of God (14:15-24). Christians are to “go quickly” (14:21) and bring those with disabilities into God’s house so that his house may be full! This mandate requires churches to be flexible, but that’s good.

The point of this story about serving others is that it’s as much for the person throwing the party as it is for the person with a disability sitting at the table. The church needs those with disabilities just as much as those with disabilities need the church. That’s why Luke 14 says do this and you will be blessed—like that restaurant maître d’ who was so blessed because he went the extra mile to help me. It’s a lesson to remember as you and your church reach out to those with disabilities. It may take extra work and a little creative thinking, but as you do it, your church will be blessed.

JET

For the next devotional from Joni, see p. 1237click here.

To return to scripture, click here