When I was a kid, I remember getting so annoyed when my mom made me come in for supper.  I’d be right in the middle of playing with some friends, and here she’d come, telling me it’s time to eat.  The last thing I wanted to do was leave my buddies in order to go sit at a table next to my sister and eat meat loaf.  I’d always whine about it, but it didn’t matter.  It was time for supper, and we were going to eat together because that’s what families do.

Or maybe I’d be sitting on the couch watching TV or playing Nintendo and she’d come in and turn the TV off, saying, “It’s time for supper!”  Of course I’d whine about it, but it didn’t matter; I wouldn’t win the argument. It was time for supper, and we were going to eat together because that’s what families do.

Today I’m married and I have a daughter, and a lot of times we’d rather sit on the couch with our plates and watch Netflix.  Luckily for me, though, I have a wife who does a great job of saying, “I haven’t talked to you all day.  Let’s eat at the table.”  And so we sit down and eat supper together, because that’s what families do.

This Sunday my church family, The Ransom, will participate in the Lord’s Supper together.  Appropriately, we’re also starting a series on marriage.  I hope that moment will be a reminder for all us married couples to turn off the TV or tell our buddies that playtime is over.  It’s time to grow up and come home and sit down with our family and eat supper together.  Because that’s what families do.

One of the unique things about being part of a family is that you don’t get to just do what you want, when you want.  As appealing as it sounds, that way of living leads to spiritual death.  When I’m with family, I know that at the end of the day, no matter how much I’d rather play Nintendo, I have a bond with these people that goes deeper than what I feel like doing.  I owe it to them to come home.

The thing that binds us as family is the very body and blood of Christ, broken and poured out for us.  As we remember His sacrifice – the greatest example of selflessness the world has ever seen – we are reminded to let ourselves be poured out for one another as well.  We don’t just remember; we participate.  In doing so we realize that life isn’t all about us.  Rather, communion compels us to love and serve each other.  Because when it comes down to it, that’s what families do.