Thought of the day
There are people in your house who aren't family . . . a delivery driver at the door . . . a repairman fixing the water heater. Being inside the house doesn't automatically mean you belong at the table.
Paul says something remarkable happens to everyone who trusts Jesus: "you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household" (Ephesians 2:19). Notice how far Paul moves you in one sentence. Not just allowed inside the house. Family. A seat at the table.
Think about what changes around a family table that doesn't happen anywhere else. You tell stories. You ask real questions. Sometimes you disagree, and it doesn't end the relationship. And you notice an empty chair. At a stadium, nobody notices one missing seat. At a family table, somebody asks, "where's Dad? Where's Mom?"
That's the kind of community Jesus is building, not people who happen to attend the same church, but people who would notice if you weren't there. People who know what you're celebrating and what you're carrying. People who have earned the right to ask you a hard question because they've actually shown up in your life.
Here's the honest question for today: are you around God's house, or are you at the table? You can know the songs, know where the coffee is, know when the service is probably wrapping up, and still be functionally a stranger to the people sitting near you.
You weren't made to be deeply known by everybody. But you were made to be deeply known by somebody. Today, think about who's actually at your table, and who you might need to invite to sit down.