A Good Meal

“So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.” 1 Samuel 25:35

Never underestimate the power of a good meal.  When we eat, we congregate, share stories, learn, engage, and bond around mealtime.  How many a child have turned into adolescents over a birthday dinner?  How many sermons discussed over Sunday afternoon fried chicken?  The table and the food that is furnished is grafted into the fabric of our daily lives.  There is such profit found in simply gathering around the kitchen table.  Stripping away all the distractions of life, to simply stop and fellowship. 

            In the 25th chapter of Samuel, the would-be king David crosses pass with a foolish man (quite literally) named Nabal.  Nabal disrespects David in a big way.  Nabal was foolish by all accounts, but thankfully his wife Abigail was not.  She recognized the authority that David held, not simply because he was David the warrior, but rather because he was David the anointed King.  In faith she saw the Lords anointed reigning on the throne and knew that to cross him was to cross God.  Knowing that David was hungry and needed food, her immediate response was to gather up a big feast for him and his men and run to meet them.  Meet them before he came to seek vengeance on all that was in her house.  What she brought to the table and the way she brought it pleased David, stopped him in his tracks and he heard her counsel.  This caused David to refrain himself from doing something that he might regret later.  Who’s to say that the same would have transpired if she had brought nothing, but the reality is, a good meal granted her audience with the future king, and gave opportunity for counsel, guidance, and a moment to minister.  There is no virtue in food, like all things in this world, it is temporal.  However, as with many things in this world, it can be used as a resource for ministry.  Growing up, we ate home cooked meals almost every night.  Day after day I watched my mother prepare, cook, and serve us.  It took work, sacrifice, and dedication.  When the table was set, we would all stop what we were doing to gather around the table.  Then, we said the blessing.  Day after day, week after week, year after year; we thanked God as a family for what we had.  We discussed what had been, what was, and prepared for what was to come; as a family.  I can still remember saying my Sunday school verse on Sunday afternoon at the kitchen table, I can remember discussing the Sunday sermon, I can remember watching my Dad ignore phone calls from work.  As a child, dinner time was just dinner time.  Now looking back, I realize that dinner time was so much.  It is a class room, a sanctuary, and a pillar of my childhood.  The opportunity to minister.  The battle for America is not in the White House, it is in your house.  We can gain the audience of those we want to reach, and we have the tools to do it with.  However, how often is this opportunity squandered?  Our time gradually eroded with frivolous things.  Is Monday night football really that important?  That notification pinging through on your iPhone; can’t it wait?  Do you have to check Facebook, now?   It is foolish to live in an affront to God, and do we not offend Him when we give so much of this precious time that he has lent to us, to something in this world that means so little?  Dinnertime taught us the value of fellowship.  It afforded us time to gather and hear counsel. 

The world can only have as much influence in our homes as we allow.  You can invite a multitude of distractions and diversions into your home.  Or you can encourage a culture of togetherness centered on Jesus.  You may not be a cook, but you can take the time to fellowship, and hear counsel.  In the end, that is what makes a good meal.