When I was growing up, we did not often have company at Sunday dinner, served at midday after the church service. My mother was very busy cooking and baking for the family of six children and keeping our large farmhouse. She did many loads of laundry in the old Maytag wringer washing machine each week, and ironed lots of dresses, shirts, and overalls. Guests were not common, so it was quite an occasion when someone came to our home for a meal.
Being a conscientious cook raised in the Mennonite tradition, Mama always worried about having enough food for everyone. To ensure that the guests would have plenty, she would quietly tell us kids, “F G E.” This little instruction, “Family Go Easy,” meant the boys should take only one piece of fried chicken and should not ask for seconds on pie. My mother cooked in such quantity that I don’t remember her ever being embarrassed by running out of food, but just to be sure, we heeded the F G E warning.
How glad I am that there is no shortage when I come to the house of God! There is no limit on what I can receive or how much I can enjoy it! Some books and sermons emphasize so heavily the welcome we should give those who haven’t yet entered the Kingdom, that “family” may sometimes be left wondering, “Is there nothing left for me?” I agree fully with the need to put aside some of our personal preferences and be ready to extend ourselves in love and friendship. Indeed, it is not all about me, to echo modern religious phraseology. But neither is it not at all about me.
We sing sweetly, “It’s all about You, Jesus. It's not about me.” But to tell the truth, sometimes I come to God’s house intensely aware of how near I am to my limits. When I put my feet under His table and make myself at home, He has something prepared just for me. It’s about Him and me. My nourishment does not take anything from the friends sitting around me; there is plenty for all. My satisfaction does not deprive the unkempt person on the back row who wandered in mid-service; there is plenty for all. When I greet my friends and shake hands with the stranger on the back row, I am saying, “It’s you and me. It’s all about us.”
Church is not about choosing who gets to have the best that is offered. Nobody needs to “go easy” in God’s house. There’s plenty for all!
MaryMartha
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Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
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