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Whenever you go out to eat with a group of people, do you ever take note of what prompts everyone to stand up from the table to leave? There are several interesting cues from body language that can trigger everyone to stand up.
For instance, when the conversation comes to a natural pause, if someone will put down their napkin and begin pushing away from the table, chances are that everyone else will follow their lead. Just try it sometime.
Perhaps you’ve sat at a table after a meal wondering when everyone will be ready to leave? Now, you have a tool to help speed things up. The key is for someone to take the initiative and make the first move.
When it comes to our relationship with Christ, He makes the first move. Romans 5:8 says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” and 1 John 4:19 says that, “we love because He first loved us.”
I am so thankful that even when I was in rebellion against God, Christ chose to make the first move by humbling himself, taking on flesh, and becoming the sacrifice for my sins on the cross. It means that I can never boast, “I was already a great guy with good intentions when Jesus ‘helped me out.’”
Instead, I have to admit that my salvation is totally dependent upon Christ’s intervention in my life! Therefore, as Paul says, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14).
In addition to God making the first move, the Bible also tells us that He will not change His mind. We can depend upon Him to always be our Rock of Salvation (Psalm 89:26)! As Thomas Aquinas once said, God is the “unmoved mover!”
So the next time you attempt to move everyone away from the dinner table, remember, God has made the first move to bring you to His table (Revelation 16:7) and that’s a table you don’t want to leave!
Copyright © 2021 by Scott Attebery @https://scottattebery.com/christian-living/taking-the-lead-at-the-table/ No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org.