How important is The Family Table? Recently I have taken an interest in the family dynamics and how they relate to shaping our culture. Better yet, how they COMPLETELY shape our culture. In our itunes library, we have a great audio message by Doug Phillips called "The Family Table." What an amazing 45 minutes. What seems like just a place to eat our vegetables and balance our checkbooks actually is the key to defining family culture. Especially Christian family culture.
Did you know the table was patterned by Christ through the bible? Doug Phillips explains how the table... your table is the center of peace, instruction, hospitality, discipleship, and cultural transformation.
It was at the table where we were given our first communion and where Christ broke bread. We in turn gather with our families and break bread with them.
In Psalm 128 we read about the gathering of the table and who is to be seated there... The righteous man, his wife, who is the fruitful vine and the sons... like olive shoots. Olive shoots.... did you know that olive shoots were highly sought after in a Hebrew economy? The bible compares children as highly sought after jewels. Blessed is the man who has them...
The knowledge this man pours forth is amazing. Too much to ever include in one post.
We have one precious table in our home. It was our dream to have a big one. So far ours seats 8, but we have squeezed 12. We are never limited. There is always room.
Our table is the center of our home.
Its where we laugh, where we gather to talk, where we teach, where we play and at times where we cry. Each chair has a story. We have welcomed many many people at its side in the couple of years we have owned it.
In the center sits our big red cast iron pot filled with delicious warm food I cooked on my stove. Its used every day.
Every meal is eaten together at this table. Hubby at the head, children gathered at its side and myself on the other end.
All are welcome. We discuss our day and share our souls. The table is our heart.
During the day, we school on it. We learn, we study and we write. What better place than learning at our heart?
I would not have it any other way.
Our table remains the center point in our home. Its worn and a bit stained. Its comfortable. I don't wish for another. 2 tables do not excite me. I love my one.It defines OUR Christian culture. It defines OUR family. Its where dreams and hopes are shared. Its where we break our bread.
How do you define your table?
Excellent post! (I read you in a reader, but have been WAY behind lately so I'm glad you pointed me over here!)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE our table and it is all the things you say about your own. Our is over 100 yrs old and was passed down to us by my husband's grandmother. You can still see traces of their life on it.
I don't think I've heard that message by Doug Phillips. I'll have to see if I've got it hiding in my library of Vision Forum stuff or if I can get my hands on it if I don't!
Blessings,
Amy
Thank you for the blessing, today. I am so thankful for my family table and the family that gathers around it. I pray that God continues to bless your family table!
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