placecards at the great banquet table

He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. (Song of Solomon 2:4)

We had some friends over to dinner tonight. They had five children, so I made our table large. It is an old 48” round table that will extend to over eight feet long. We seated nine at it tonight. We had spaghetti, a perennial favorite and a good visit.

Since there were as many kids, more than we usually have to dinner, I decided to make place cards. That way no one would fight over where to sit or worse, sit in my place.

When the kids came in, one of them said, Look. Our names are at our places. I had worried that they wouldn’t like where I put them and want to change or gripe or something. I don’t know these children well, so I didn’t know how they would react.

But they were pleased. They were expected and they had a place to sit at that was their place. No one else could sit there because their name was at the plate.

They were just small place cards that I ran off on the printer and cut out of ordinary printer paper. But to the kids, they were places reserved just for them.

I saw a painting of a great banquet hall. Jesus was at the door welcoming a man in. sitting at the table were all of the great saints of old.

And there was a place just for him, reserved.

That is how I see the great banquet hall with the banner of his love over it all. And at each of our places, there is a place card with our name on it.

What a day when we all get together in that banquet hall with the Son of God, we take that great communion that he said he wouldn’t take again until after he came, we eat together, we laugh together.

The song says, it’s a big, big house, with lots and lots of room; a big, big table with lots and lots of food; a big, big yard where we can play football it’s a big, big house. It’s my Father’s house.

With place cards with my name on it at the table. A place reserved for me.