If you ask any fisherman whether it matters where he fishes, I do not think he will say that it makes no difference. The main thing, however, is to have a fishing rod. Fishing is an entire field of knowledge that must be mastered. Every field has rules, as well as exceptions to those rules. Every fisherman has a special place where the fish bite best, where they are plentiful, and where it is simply interesting and pleasant to enjoy his favorite activity.
It is also very important to have the proper tackle and bait, because every fish has its own characteristics and preferences.
There are also “good fishing spots” for catching friends. One of them is a table where you share wholesome food.
If there is an unclaimed seat at the table, you can take a very advantageous position for gaining new friends. The atmosphere is relaxed. Everyone is enjoying the meal. Conversation becomes a pleasant addition to the beginning of a friendship, and hearts are open to receiving a new person. If a soul is inclined toward friendship, it can experience it very quickly at the table. Later, this person may become dear and close for life. If this happens while visiting someone or attending a large gathering, you do not even have to spend time preparing the food.
This art is drawn from the life of Jesus. He greatly enjoyed eating with different people. Publicans and sinners invited Him, and He ate with them. At that time, this challenged society and its accepted norms. But through His behavior and attitude toward people, Christ destroyed such stereotypes and gave me an example to follow.
If a person is closed to communication or does not desire to develop a relationship with you, your presence with him at the table obligates neither of you to anything. You are simply eating together.
For example, if I simply approach a person and begin a conversation or try to become acquainted with him, I will be rejected in most cases. At the table, however, the opposite happens.
The gift of hospitality includes offering food and eating it together at one table while communicating with one another. Sometimes this joins strangers so closely that for the rest of their lives, they remember the invitation and meal with gratitude.
Even in Eternity, a marriage supper is being prepared for all the redeemed. We will all sit together at one table with Jesus, joyfully listen to His every word, admire Him, and look upon one another with love while anticipating the joy of new acquaintances. We will eat the fruit of the Tree of Life and other delicacies. Our kind Jesus will look with satisfaction upon the travail of His Soul.
In His message to Laodicea, our Lord promises that if anyone hears His voice and opens the door to Him, He will enter and dine with that person, and that person will dine with Jesus. In gratitude for an open heart, Jesus offers to share a meal. Through this friendly fellowship, He can reveal Himself to me and open me to Himself.
Please remember all the meals you have shared with strangers. During the meal, they became friends or good acquaintances. The wall of separation fell, and you gained access to this person as someone you know, while he also came to know you.
When a single man wants to know a new female friend more closely, he looks for an opportunity to spend time with her at a table. While sharing drinks and food, he can become better acquainted with her. For this purpose, he invites her to a café or restaurant for a more detailed acquaintance. There they come to know one another better. If they also have an opportunity to prepare the food together, they learn even more about each other and preserve this knowledge throughout life. There is something about food that draws us closer.
When I understood this, I tried intentionally gaining friends at the table, and I can tell you that it works. At first, I was surprised myself. Then I began using it to find new friends or maintain relationships with old ones. Miracles occur as unfamiliar hearts draw closer.
I am always saddened when I see someone withdraw into a corner and silently eat his bread while staring at his plate. Unfortunately, such people are also among us. But they need help as well. We can break their loneliness through our presence and friendliness. The gift of communication was given to us for the very purpose of communicating and expressing our love through words. It is so joyful to watch your kind and encouraging words enter a heart and, like a seed, sprout and bear good fruit. What happiness it is to love someone you previously did not know but later came to know, discover, welcome, and value as a lifelong friend.
It does not always happen as easily as I describe it here. But if you move confidently toward the goal while remaining friendly and loving from a pure heart, the result will correspond to your effort. In the eyes of Heaven, you will be a victor even if the new friend runs away in fear or anger.
A loving heart respects another person’s freedom and senses the boundaries it must not cross.
If another person runs away in fear or anger, this does not necessarily mean that you frightened or angered him. It may indicate that he fears communication and friendship. Perhaps he is angry by nature and does not want to maintain such relationships with anyone.
Because love is gentle, it does not act aggressively. It very tenderly seeks points of connection and paths to the heart.
But I must remember that my potential friend sat down at the table to eat, while I am only an addition to the event. He may not even look in my direction. Yet this does not trouble me. There is always a fish waiting for the right hook with the right bait. If it is hungry, its chances of becoming yours are greater.
In this comparison, it is very important to remember that you are catching a fish not to eat it but to place it in the aquarium of your heart. There it will feel comfortable and safe, while the tenderness of your soul heals its wounds and works miracles of love within its heart.
From the moment your little fish enters your aquarium, it is yours and needs care, nourishment, and attention.
Jesus enters my life to remain there forever. He places me in His aquarium called the “Ocean of Love” and watches to ensure that any predatory fish entering this space are overcome by me and drawn to Him as new members of God’s family.
A prepared table has its own laws and exerts an enormous influence upon the human heart. When my friend sits at the table, his senses and perceptions become highly active. If the food is delicious, beautiful, and wholesome, I will appear the same way against its background. But if my friend is gnawing on a dry cracker, his close acquaintance with me may become associated with that hard food.
Love for people, tender words, attentiveness, respect, and the gift of friendliness can together produce great transformations within the heart of an unfamiliar person sharing the meal. He will most likely not become my friend immediately, but a seed of love will be sown in his lonely heart, and my later behavior will contribute to its growth.
Of course, my desire to gain new friends will play the principal role.
I also do not always see a new friend in every person. I may simply eat without noticing the person beside me if I have other purposes at that time. But because I understand the influence of sharing a meal, I add this knowledge to my resources and can use it for God’s glory. Love teaches me many useful things and goes into action when I decide to apply them in my life.
Bible Verses for Reflection
Matthew 9:10–13; Hosea 6:6; Luke 19:5, 8; 7:33–35, 44–48; Acts 2:46; Romans 12:13; Matthew 22:9; Revelation 3:20; 22:3–4; Romans 12:20; Proverbs 11:25; Philippians 4:5; 2 Timothy 2:24–26; Isaiah 53:10.