The Guest of Honor

Welcome, Friend. You are received joyfully and with full acceptance into a home like no other.

I invite you to picture the most beautiful dining room you can. Fine woods, like ebony and mahogany, have been carved and assembled into tables and chairs. A colorful carpet overlays shining flooring. Lights glitter and sparkle amid paintings from the hands of the finest artists the world has ever seen, from east to west.

Have a seat, Beloved.

Around the table sit a variety of human beings. Perhaps your physician is there and a teacher you admired. There are celebrities who dazzle us and scientists who have made life-changing discoveries. People born to great wealth and ease, dressed to perfection; athletes who push the boundaries of the human body; and explorers of untamed wildernesses. All share the same kind of salad you do, same soup, same entrée, and dessert.

The Host stands up, raises a glass, points to you, and says, “Everyone, welcome our honored guest!”

What is this? Why am I here? A lot of us would ask these ques­tions in the presence of such human illustriousness.

It’s easy to compare ourselves to others and produce reasons why we are better or worse. This can lead us to false conclusions about our Creator. The truth looks more like this:

You have been invited to the table of God, Dear One. But instead of the accomplishments, physical prowess, beauty, and social standing that we humans tend to value, we gather as one. One body of humanity, one family of God. And yes—you, me, and each one of us—are the guests of honor. You see, God has no favorites; we are all supremely honored. How could we not be? We were made by the Host, the same Host who, after creating all that was made, declared, “It is good.”

Humanity is God’s honored guest.

At this table, Friend, we don’t really sit with the wealthy, witty, or wonderful. That scientist holds the pain of childhood abuse. That actress cared for her terminally ill mother for years. That teacher showed up early every day to help students who were struggling. That wealthy socialite bore up under crippling depression and answered a suicide hotline to keep herself alive. There are others who seem to have given their lives to addictive substances, hazardous relationships, nursed grievances, delusions of impossible expectations, and compulsive behaviors, and yet…they are honored too. You are honored. I am honored.

Do you understand, Friend? When God looks upon you, God honors you just as much as anybody who has ever walked this world. The Creator’s grace and favor emanates to all. Those who accept their place as God’s honored guest eat of the bounty of God’s table and allow hallowed nourishment to fuel their lives and everyone else’s too. At this table, the extravagant truth that “we all do well when we all do well” is evident.

Beloved, the truth is, you are already at this table. Mostly, we have turned our chairs outward and have forgotten where we right­fully sit. Turn to the table, pick up your fork, and feast on the love of God, the milk and honey of heaven.

Be the honored guest that you are.

Let this festive feast be what it is for you, come to you as it will. You don’t have to go into the kitchen and tell the cook what to make you. That would defeat the purpose. Trust in the nourishing, revitalizing, and mending menu of God as it manifests before you, around you, and in you. True, you don’t have to eat anything; but at least try everything God sets before you. You may just be pleasantly surprised. As you sit at the table of divine bounty, goodness, and grace, be loved, Beloved. Be loved.