There is a celebration taking place in heaven. It is the rejoicing of those believers who have passed from this life to the next. They feast with their Savior who saved them from destruction. They rejoice with those they once loved on earth. This is a never-ending celebration. In Luke 14:15-23 Jesus shares the parable of the great banquet. Just as those in this parable who are invited to a banquet, we are also invited to one. Our invitation is to His greatest banquet. Just as those who refused in the parable, there are those of us who will make excuses not to attend. The excuses in the parable sounded reasonable, but they were not sufficient enough to refuse so great an invitation. What are our excuses not to accept His invitation? Is it inconvenient to lay down our priorities? Does something else seem more important that what He offers? The celebration to which we’re invited calls for our complete surrender. It calls for obedience and for letting go of everything that hinders our total commitment.
God does not want any excuses. He wants me. He desires my love and my undivided heart which gives Him full allegiance. He longs for my loyalty. He loves me even when I have allowed excuses to hinder my spiritual growth. As a loving father He continually disciplines me. There is never an issue of His love for me. The issue is about my love for Him. How much do I love Him? Will I surrender to His will? “How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?” the writer to the Hebrews declares (Hebrews 2:3a, NIV). If I ignore His invitation to His great banquet in heaven, then I will miss the greatest opportunity of my lifetime. By ignoring His invitation, I reject what he offers. If I continually say “no” the day will come when my ears will no longer hear His invitation. There are others who will accept His invitation.
Do you want to go to this great celebration in heaven one day? Are you willing to let go of all your excuses? He yearns for everyone to accept His invitation, and He longs for His banquet to be full. “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full” (Luke 14:21,23b, NIV). “No eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived— the things God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV). He has prepared a never-ending celebration, and has invited each one of us. Will we lay down all that hinders? Will we surrender and accept?
Lynn Hampton Lacher
No comments:
Post a Comment