Reflections on 1 Corinthians 10:21
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.” (NIV)
In Corinth, the question was literal. Meals were eaten in pagan temples, and the meat came from the altar. Paul tells the believers that sitting at a table means sharing fellowship with the one the table belongs to. You cannot eat at the Lord’s table and the idol’s table and remain undivided.
We may not face temple feasts, but the two tables are still set before us every day. The Remedy translation shows what is really at stake: we cannot internalize both the character of Christ and the character of demons. What we eat becomes who we are.
The choice must be made
You cannot choose both, and failing to make a conscious choice is itself a choice for the devil’s table. The Lord will not press Himself into your life or insert Himself where He is not asked. This is not because He does not care, but because no one can be healed without their permission and cooperation. Christ brings everything: the calling of your heart toward something better, the situations that make you face yourself, and the power to follow through. The one thing He cannot provide is your choice.
When Adam fell, God promised to put enmity between the serpent and humanity. That enmity works like a blanket of Grace around our world, a gentle tug on our minds and hearts upward to Christ. It is His invitation to His table. We are free to resist it, and every time we do, we build up muscles against the call to come and be healed.
Seated by small choices
We take our seat at Christ’s table through little things: each choice to bless someone at the expense of our own comfort, a simple kindness to a stranger, a helping hand when our time is rushed. These small choices are how we eat His bread and drink His cup.
In the same way, every missed opportunity Grace has made us aware of seats us at the other table: the person we passed on the other side of the road because we had important business. We go on unaware that we have just accepted bread and wine at the table of demons. Looking the other way gets easier, and the invitations to grow and become more lie unopened on the floor. Grace still draws, but we have trained ourselves not to feel it.
The other road is to answer the call: never passing a struggling soul without giving them something to brighten their day. And each time we give of ourselves, we find our cup refilled and our bread basket full. The Lord’s table is never lacking.
It is the heart that chooses
Outward kindness put on for show does not seat us at Christ’s table; it is still self-focused. The heart chooses the table. And when the heart of Christ is in us, we can see His presence flickering dimly in a wounded soul whose troubled life has left its marks. Let that person see you. Love them, value them as a child of God, and let the Spirit guide your time together. Trust comes first; then they will allow you to love them.
Two tables are set before us today. We cannot sit at both. Every small choice is a meal, and every meal is shaping who we are becoming. Which table will you choose?
Oct 3, 2026 · @Dara Dietz
