Holding "Pot Luck Dinners" is a long cherished church tradition. Churches are famous for this type of fellowship where people just show up, with whatever they have prepared, and with little or no menu coordination, end up with a pretty well rounded meal with a surprising variety of good things to eat. We somehow develop a running idea of who does what and end up with a success.
Oh, sometimes there may be too much potato salad and not enough green vegetables. Sometimes there may be way more fried chicken than any other kind of meat, but for the most part it works out that everyone gets plenty to eat and it isn't too hard on any one person. We share the work load and enjoy the food we all brought.
The success of a pot luck or anything else in life depends on what we bring into it. What we bring is what is on the table. What we bring is what we have to work with. Church life is like that. The quality of our services depends on each participant bringing his or her best. Whether it be the choir number, the scripture reading, the music or the sermon, diligent and loving preparation results in a good spiritual table spread for the benefit of all who attend. The Holy Spirit often surprises us with his "higher planning" as some call it, and we see that the harmonious exercise of spiritual gifts resulting in real worship.
While the services are conducted with what is brought by those on the platform, there is also a very important factor that can make or break any given service. What did YOU bring, as an individual, in the area of personal preparedness? What expectations did you bring? What prayers did you make anticipating God's presence? What attitude came in the door with you? What plans did you make to be a blessing to someone else today? These types of things are what we bring with us to worship. The collective contributions of all of us makes up the spiritual meal. We feast from a common table.
If you bring love, you will get to partake of love and enjoy the love another brought! If you bring faith, you will enjoy faith and see it increased! If you bring optimism and enthusiasm you will also find that others brought their healthy energies as well and the feast becomes a buffet table of blessings!
We also bring our appetites. Our hunger for God will determine just how much we benefit from the spiritual table. If we are weak we can take a good serving of strength. If we are sad, we can feast on joy. If we have need of forgiveness and restoration to fellowship, we can find God's grace and draw closer to Him.
What do you plan to bring to the table of life today? In the work place or in class, others will bring something too. Maybe some of it isn't even good to eat. But, if enough people will bring their best, the sharing will result in all true souls getting what they need. Bring it with you. Put your best stuff on the table. I can’t help but believe that God will work it out that you get your own needs met.