About a year after returning home from my tour of duty in the United States Marine Corps, a large group of my friends and I decided to go to the beach. Surely I need not mention which beach, as you are no doubt aware of the unwritten law, which obligates every good West Virginian to make the pilgrimage to sunny Myrtle Beach at least once in our life.

When I say a large group, I’m not just referring to how many of us there were; I’m also describing the physical size of each individual. We were some BIG boys, each weighing anywhere from 250 to 350 pounds, and standing six feet tall or better! When I say we were a large group, I mean we were a LARGE group!

The first night in town, we ate at a restaurant called The Filling Station, an all-you-can-eat buffet-style restaurant that served pizza, spaghetti, lasagna and sub sandwiches. It was fantastic! You were allowed to eat as much as you could hold, and the best part was it cost only $6.00 per person! We ate like savages! As fast as the servers could bring out new food, we would have it devoured before they could even make it back to the kitchen for more. Parents sitting at tables near us warned their children not to get too close to us. We literally ate like pigs.

After careful consideration and much deliberation, it was a unanimous decision for us to return to The Filling Station and feast again the second night. When we finally arrived, just before we could pay and sit down, the manager came out to meet us personally. He took us to the side and announced, “Guys, I’ll give you twenty bucks each if you leave and never come back.” As the self-appointed spokes-person for the LARGE group, I tried to reason with him by saying, “Sir, we are not here to cause trouble, we are only here to eat.” He smiled and replied, “Son, we can’t afford for you boys to eat here again.” Apparently we had cleaned them out the first night, and they were not willing to take another loss!

Isn’t it great to know that we are not limited when sitting at God’s table? We are always welcome at His all-you-can-eat spiritual buffet, and are encouraged to bring as many friends and family members as possible. We are never criticized for consuming too much, nor disciplined for visiting the table more than once a week. Matthew 4:4 says, “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

I once heard a doctor explain how our body reacts when we consume large meals. He said that when we eat a large meal, blood is sent to the stomach to assist in the digestion of the food. This is why when we eat a huge dinner we are ready for a good nap. I am so glad that the Blood of Christ is always there for me when I am trying to consume more than I should.

The best thing about God’s Filling Station is knowing that the cost was taken care of over two thousand years ago on an old rugged cross. C.S. Lewis once said, “The Son of God became the Son of Man so that sons of men may become the sons of God.” Jesus Christ paid the price for you and me…as well as any group we invite, no matter how large or small.

- Unknown

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