Sit Next To Me

It's not every day that you come to theological realizations at McDonald's.

As I sat alone, eating my double cheeseburger and wondering what I needed to do next on my list of errands, two ladies entered the restaurant, each with one son who was friends with the other. The boys were pretty excited about being at McDonald's, as evidenced by their sprint through the open door and subsequent opening of everything with a handle, starting with the door to the trash bin. While the two ladies ordered lunch, they apparently sent the boys off to secure a table. They scurried about, weaving in and out of several tables before settling on a large, rounded booth with more than enough seating for two little boys and their moms.

One boy said to the other, "Come sit with me."

The other asked outright, "Why?"

Without any hesitation, the first boy said, "Because I love you."

I smiled, and immediately my eyes began to tear up. I tried to hide it: people might have thought, what's this guy's problem? Is the food that bad? It wasn't the food, however, that brought tears to my eyes. It was the nature of the conversation and the sheer honesty on the part of both boys, one wondering why he should sit next to his friend, and the other wanting him to simply because "I love you." You could interpret the conversation this way:

"Come, sit with me."

"Why? What have I ever done to deserve or warrant you, my best friend, wanting me to sit next to you?"

"Nothing. Sit with me because I love you. Isn't that enough?"

I have not had that conversation with any of my friends. At least, not yet. But I know someone who has.

Jesus told the church in Laodicea, "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we overcome life in this sin-filled world, if we escape the corruption of immorality and the manifold temptations waging war on our souls, Jesus will one day say to us (even us who, like the Laodiceans, have at times been lukewarm in our faith), "Come sit with me."

And we'll say, "Why?"

And Jesus will say, "Because I love you."