One of the most famous groups of men who have ever been assembled is commonly referred to as "The Knights of the Round Table." The leader of this organization was a man, with whom most of us are familiar, by the name of King Arthur. As Britain was at one of the peaks of its power, he arranged this group of men to be the epitome of chivalry. They were not only to enforce the laws, integrity and morality of the Britain but also to be, for lack of better terms, the gauge by which all behavior would be judged and approved.

 Historians will disagree about how many actual knights were a part of this round table throughout history. Some claim as few as 25, some as many as 50 men placed themselves at one point at this round table. Obviously, the table was large. But, it was also symbolic. A round table has no place designated as the head of the table. As the knights gathered around the table, they were reminded that no one was of greater value than anyone else. Everybody was on equal terms. However, there was one seat of primacy, if you can have a head at a round table, King Arthur's place. It was the place that no one else sat in, ever. They never dared sit in it even though they may have changed around because they knew that even though it was a round table, that's where the king sat.

At one of their gatherings, King Arthur found himself displaced by another matter and he was running late. All of the knights were sitting waiting attentively. Then, as legend has it, he came in with his entourage in a great rush, and all of the knights stood in unison and began to applaud and cheer his presence. King Arthur had had a rough and busy day and threw out a satirical comment. "What are you doing? Who do you think I am, the Lord Jesus Christ?" Legend has it that as the applause quieted, one of the knights spoke up and said, "No, we know who you are. If you had been the Lord Jesus Christ, we wouldn't have applauded, we would have bowed."
There are many in our world who deserve to receive our applause: a spouse who is sacrificial, an employee who goes "beyond the call of duty," etc.; however, there is only who deserves the bending of our knee - Jesus Christ. The question is, have you done so or are you distracted by the applause of life?

Dr. Jeff Meyers is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Conyers.