A Place at the Table

A Place at the Table

Why on earth would God himself embrace a season of fasting? It might be because He knows some deep truths about the world and about humanity. God's decision again and again to give up His power—from when He came to earth in the form of a crying baby, to when He fasted in the desert, to when He allowed people to torture and execute Him—teaches us something very important: that the world will not be changed when we ascend to power. God's kingdom will not be furthered because an evangelical Christian resides in the White House or the highest court in the land. God changes the world through humility and service. It is a subversive tactic, yet highly effective.

Just look back on the history of Christianity, and you can see it in the movements spawned by William Wilberforce, Martin Luther King Jr., or Dorothy Day. Lasting change may eventually be legislated and enforced, but it doesn't start there. It first takes root in the hearts of people. When God changes our hearts, a transforming love is unleashed on the world.

The same truth applies to each of us on a personal level. We will experience radical transformation in humility and service, not superiority and power. The primary reason why we struggle so deeply to be transformed into the character of Christ is likely because so often instead of living with humility and vulnerability, we are busy chasing power and prestige.

Can we embrace the truths of Christ if we do not embrace His posture? His hands were exposed to disease and leprosy as He touched the sick. His knee bent to the ground to wash the sullied feet of his friends. His eyes lifted in prayer to the Father. His body bowed and was broken in death. As we learn to march in step with our Savior, we find that our swagger gives way to a lowly and humble way of walking.

To be strong Christians, we must embrace weakness. It is when we accept our humanity, when we are humbled by our fallibility, when we live vulnerably, that God is strong within us. Jesus was lowly, humble, even despised. He did not seek comfort. He did not even have a place to lay His head. He had every opportunity to pursue power yet didn't. The world systems and its currency did not hold value for Jesus. He had a vision of a different sort of kingdom….

Whenever I begin a fast, I do it in hopes of becoming a different man—a grateful man. It is my greatest hope that through our willingness to be vulnerable, to be changed, to be active agents of hope in a world that so desperately needs it, we will encounter the Risen Christ together and be renewed and changed forever.

Will you join me on this journey?

Copyright info for excerpts: From A PLACE AT THE TABLE by Chris Seay. Baker Publishing Group. Copyright © 2012 by Chris Seay. Used by permission. All rights to this material are reserved. Material is not to be reproduced, scanned, copied, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission from Baker Publishing Group. http://www.bakerpublishinggroup.com