Did you know that God has invited you to a banquet? One day, we will feast in heaven with the Father, when the bride of Jesus is finally united with him in glory. It all sounds quite grand, doesn’t it? What will it look like? What will we eat? Who will be there?
We don’t yet know all the answers to those questions. What we do know is that we are invited. But what’s involved in this invitation? Is it just a call to share a meal? Does it imply an invitation to fellowship, to shared intimacy?
In the Bible, we find the parable of the great banquet, and I believe we can learn a great deal about God’s heart from this story.
When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
Luke 14: 15-24
Jesus is clear - the Father is preparing a banquet, and He has invited you. He has reserved a place for you at his table. In His house. Even now, He invites you to come in and fellowship, engage in conversation, get to know Him, and He you. He has provided a place of feasting in his presence, of enjoying fellowship, companionship, and receiving love. It is a place to belong.
Did you truly hear, hear with your heart, what that means? God has a place for YOU at the table – a place designed just for you. He’s calling you to come to a deeper place with Him than you have been in the past. He’s inviting you in. Have you heard His invitation? Will you respond? Have you set your heart to come?
The problem we encounter is that, although we are invited to feast in God’s presence, we are often full of excuses to avoid saying yes.
“I’ve got to go try out my new oxen!”
“I just got married!”
“I just bought a field!”
God invites us, but so many of us don’t really see our need. We allow the concerns of the world to take precedence over going to the banquet of His presence. You see, the people in this parable had already been invited, and had already said yes. The master was simply saying, “the dinner is ready now!” But now that it was time to act, the people found many reasons why they couldn’t accept the invitation anymore. Have you found yourself in this place? You’ve said yes to God. Your mind and heart say yes. But when you actually come to the point of decision, your heart finds a reason to say no?
When everyone rejected the Father and said no, what did He do? Did He fight with those who rejected him? No. Instead, He invited the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. People who could not pay him back, surely. But also those who were acutely aware of their need. These were people who couldn’t avoid, couldn’t hide who they really were. Their brokenness was on display for all to see. They were in poverty. They had physical disabilities. They were blind and could not get around on their own. They were lame and needed someone to help them move. They were very aware of their brokenness. They were likely rejected by most people they encountered. What good could they do? What value could they bring to a great banquet?
Apparently great value. God measured them as worthy of His love, worthy of His provision, worthy of invitation into His house. Worthy of relationship with Him.
So often we look at this passage and make it all about US. We make it about saying yes, about what we should or shouldn’t do. But when I look at this passage, I see God’s heart. It’s about the fact that everyone rejected Him and His invitation and chose an excuse over coming in and fellowshipping with Him at His house.
God isn’t just inviting us to His house for our benefit. God is asking – who is willing to dine with ME? Who sees and knows it is a privilege to be invited, and is willing to come, broken and in need, and enter in anyway? Who will see ME for who I am and press into relationship, into knowing ME? Who will enter in, throw off their excuses that make them hide, and have life giving and intimate relationship with ME?
It is so easy to get wrapped up in the cares of the world – what will we wear? What will we eat? How will I pay the bills? How will I take care of my family? How will I advance in my job? We can get so wrapped up in looking at ourselves…
I’m not really qualified to know God
I have too many bad qualities
I’ve been rejected too much
I’ve sinned too much
It will cost me too much
…that we totally miss the wonder and mystery of who God really is. We forget the truth that through Jesus, all these excuses and cares cease to matter. He comes in, resurrects us to new life, empowers us to live in relationship with Him, and invites us to know Him. He is constantly inviting us to go further, to go deeper with Him. He wants a dynamic relationship with US, regardless of our state of wholeness. He qualifies us to know him as the very closest of relationships. As a Father, as a husband, as our closest friend.
So I have a question for you. Where is God calling you in? Where is He inviting you to go deeper? Is He asking you to yield something so you can know him better? Is He asking you to intentionally walk with Him in fellowship?
What excuses does your heart make to avoid saying yes?
I’m not good enough.
I’ve made too many mistakes.
I’m not perfect, and I have to get it perfect first before I come!
It feels safer to hide from you, God.
God, aren’t you disappointed in my weakness?
Can I suggest to you that God isn’t repelled by your brokenness? Your poverty, your inability to make things happen on your own, your feelings of not being enough, doesn’t faze him. Your crippled limbs are not a barrier to His invitation. The fact that you are blind, that you can’t see where He is taking you, doesn’t bother Him one bit. He invites you still.
These excuses are just lies that tell us distance from God is safer. That holding back is safer. That saying no to his invitation is the better solution. So we choose to agree with these lies and offer them back to God as an excuse to decline his invitation. Personally, I have often struggled with the lie that my performance drives my ability to be in relationship with God. I have believed the lie that I had to be perfect, to have it all together, to not make any mistakes, to go deeper with God. When I finally offered these thoughts to Jesus, His response was,
Kathy, you are forgetting that I AM perfection. I am the one who holds perfection. You don’t need to be afraid when I am in control. I am holding the reigns. It’s not about YOUR perfection or performance, but about MINE. Focusing on yourself and your own performance will cap you because it puts a requirement on you that must be satisfied for you to be free. But I have already satisfied any and every limit preventing your freedom. Change the way you think. Change the way you process. Put ME in the forefront. See me there before you consider your ability or potential performance in a situation. It will be life to you.
Can I ask you, What lie are you believing that is keeping you from taking a step into the invitation of God’s heart? Offer them to Jesus. Receive His truth in return. Say yes to His invitation.
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