The Table of Grace
Romans 9:15 NKJV
For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
I've learned to have a great appreciation for grace, probably because I’ve needed grace from God so many times in my life. When I was first saved I heard a lot about grace from the pastor and teachers in our church, but I really didn’t understand much about it. It was something like a girl in my high school who received a car from her parents on her 16th birthday. She didn’t have a driver’s license and didn’t get one until she was 18. Here she had a beautiful car, and it had a working engine that would propel her car anywhere she wanted to go. It had properly inflated tires, a tank full of gas, and all the other things a car needed to run. But she had to leave the car in the garage; unable to use the free gift she had been given. It's sad that so many believers live just like that girl had to live. They have this great gift available from God, but can’t make use of it.
I was asked once to picture in my mind’s eye what the Throne of Grace looks like. Other students described a throne like royalty sits on and they had it looking fancy! Jewels and gold and fine fabrics adorned it! Some, sadly, said they had no picture and no description. I thought it looked like a table.
Picture a chair at a large table, with a simple place setting in front of you. When I was young, this was where we came to talk to Mom. We would sit and enjoy a donut and some milk or coffee, and Mom would listen to our troubles. Friends would come in and she would invite then to sit down and pretty soon they were at ease and talking to her like they had known her forever. I would do homework there or work on a craft project. The table was the center of our home and where Mom’s grace helped us all.
I guess that’s why I picture God’s Throne of Grace as a table. It's where you sit down and can share your deepest, darkest struggles and heartaches, and always find a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. It's a place where you're only a stranger once, and even then, it's not for long. It's an inviting place where everyone’s welcome.
I’ve heard of many who are afraid to come into God’s presence. They're afraid that they won't be "good enough," or that God won't want them. But that’s just not true. God is calling to us to come in and pull a chair up to the table and sit down. He doesn't care where you're coming from, there's always room for one more at the table.
Stephen Cram May 15, 2011 Colossians 2:8
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