Length: One dimensional

Length x Width= Area: Two dimensional

Length x Width x Height= Volume: Three dimensional

The number gets harder to calculate every time a dimension is added. Writing it down becomes necessary, and a calculator for checking the math (or doing the math in the first place!) is a good idea. After all, the table I’m building won’t come out right if my calculations are off. Putting dinner on the table in my three dimensional life is a whole lot better when that table is steady and solid.

I’ve been wondering if there’s a lesson here for my faith life. The length of it – how long I’ve walked this path. The width of it – The traditions and theologies that have shaped it – in good ways and some not-so-good ways. Those two can only get me so far. I need that third dimension for my faith to take it from a solo experience to something more, something vibrant. What is that third dimension?

Some call it the Body of Christ, others Church, still others the Spirit filled communion of Saints, as well as my favorite: the unbroken chain of prayer through time and place. It’s the living connection between and among those who seek to love God, Self, and Neighbor with who they are, what they have, and what they do. That’s the volume, the dimension that moves the two dimensional into the three, the plans and numbers on the blueprint into the table.

If the company he kept and the disciples he chose are any indication, Jesus found room at that table for any and all who wished to pull up a chair. I guess, in light of that, I can let go of my preferred guest list, be thankful for the table and the nourishment it holds, and do my best to love whomever shows up…