By Edwin White
“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20*).
Do you ever have a longing for home? Do you ever think how great it would be to sit down again at the table with Momma and Daddy? Your brothers and sisters would be there. Everyone would be smiling. You would join hands and bow your heads while Daddy gives thanks. There is something so warm, peaceful, and joyous about that picture.
The truth, however, is it’s probably not an accurate picture. It was rare that everyone was in a good mood. Momma’s cooking may not have been quite as great as you remember it. Brothers and sisters quarreled. Life from long ago was not as perfect as we like to remember.
But there is a home which will fulfill all our dreams. Jesus talked about it. He said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). When the Father welcomes us to that home, we will be coming home in the most complete sense.
God prepared a perfect home for Adam and Eve. It had everything: a perfect climate, perfect food, and perfect fellowship with the Father. There was no sickness, pain, or sorrow. Jesus says he is preparing a place for us. It will be like that. Only this time we will have countless brothers and sisters to enjoy along with the Father and our Savior, Jesus. We will live in perfect harmony; and it will never end.
When we come to this table, we get a sample of that home. We have fellowship with the Father as we remember Jesus. We also have countless brothers and sisters all over the world who join hands with us in this memorial supper.
Even if we are 10,000 miles from home, we will feel at home with fellow Christians as we remember our Savior together around the Lord’s table. Let us rejoice in that rich fellowship as we partake.
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*All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.
Ed White is a retired Christian minister. He earned degrees from Mid-South Christian College, Alabama Christian School of Religion, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He lives in Milledgeville, Ga. His book of Communion meditations, Come to the Table, is available from Amazon.
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