Feast
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things
there is no law." (Galatians 5:22,23) In Savannah, Ga. There is a well known
eating establishment called Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House. It is on the first floor
of her boarding house, which has been in operation for 60 years. There are no
advertisements for her sumptuous layout, and the sign out front is small, but
when your drive down West Jones St., you will see the line of expectant eaters
waiting on the sidewalk.
We arrived at 11:00 for lunch, but missed the first seating. As we waited our
turn, I had the opportunity to watch the servers. They paid close attention to
the needs of those at the tables, making sure no bowls of food were left empty.
Refills were always available. The people at each table were usually strangers,
arriving in twos or fours, but sitting at a table for ten. Conversation
abounded, as did hearty eating of each of the delicious dishes passed from one
person to the next. When it was time for us to sit at the table, I was astounded
at the variety and amount of food served. It was a veritable feast! We had pot
roast, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, turnip greens, green beans, squash,
beets, potato salad, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, biscuits, corn bread, and
potatoes au gratin. Then there were two choices for dessert… as if we had room!
Well, we managed to try the banana pudding and the blueberry cobbler, and they
were delicious!
Jesus sets out a feast for us, you know. His table is even more loaded than Mrs.
Wilkes! He serves big bowls full of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. He heaps His huge platter full of
unconditional love, and keeps all those other bowls full for us, too. The
servings of comfort, help, wisdom and teaching are available and can be ingested
as we partake of them. We can pass those around again and again, helping
ourselves as we need to, for they never are depleted. The most special platter
of all is the one that holds life eternal. Each person only needs one portion of
that - refills are not necessary. Jesus stands ready and waiting for us to come
to His table. He invites us to partake of this most sumptuous feast. What an
invitation! When you accept this request, your spirit will receive a most
wonderful meal, and it is one that will continue to be available to you- ALWAYS.
Marion Smith