I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 2:6)

by Rich Miller

Where you sit makes a difference.

At the reception, the wedding party has a special table of honor and they often are served first. In a courtroom, the judge has his own chair, presiding over the proceedings, and people may only come near him if invited. A kid would never think to walk into homeroom and take the teacher's seat as his own. You just don't do that! Even around our dinner table, everyone has their designated spot and Shirley and I occupy the two head seats, facing each other. If one of the kids decided to "feel their oats" and take one of those seats, they would receive a stern look and probably a growl!

While growing up I remember holiday feasts where there was never enough room around the main "adult" table for the kids to sit there too. We children had our own place to eat, often an old card table dragged out of the closet and recruited for duty. Usually, if we wanted food we had to wait for the adults to get their fill and then petition them to pass it from the main table. It was very clear who was honored and important and who was not! It was a memorable moment when one was invited to sit at the adult table.

Seeing A Small Picture Of God's Power

Dear GOD,
I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only four people in our family and I can never do it.
—Nan (age 7)
There are two sides to God's coin. On one side is the word "Father." We can relate to the father thing because of our earthly fathers. But the other side of the coin says "Almighty." There are definitely people on earth who have a lot of might, but none of them have all might. We have no comparisons when we talk about God being "Almighty," so we humans have concocted a variety of different words and metaphors to try to describe this aspect of God:

• sovereign (sŏv'ər-ĭn) n.  One that exercises supreme, permanent authority, especially in a nation or other governmental unit, as a king, queen, or other noble person who serves as chief of state; a ruler or monarch.
• transcendent (trān-sěn'dənt) adj. 1. Surpassing others; preeminent or supreme. 2. Lying beyond the ordinary range of perception. 3. Being beyond the limits of experience and hence unknowable. 4. Being above and independent of the material universe.