Wed.’s Devo - Come and Dine

Read Luke 14:12-24 When Jesus talked to the Pharisees he nailed them. He knew what they were doing and exposed them. He told them not to ask people to eat with them that were able to reciprocate, but to ask those who couldn’t reciprocate - the poor, maimed, lame, and blind. Then God will recompense them in the resurrection of the just at the end of time. One of the men sitting with them spoke up and said, “blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God”. Apparently he didn’t understand that anyone can say that but not many mean it. The truth is that God bid them all to come to the supper table then. It is easy to want to live eternally in heaven, but few understand the cost. If we aren’t wanting to dine with him now, we won’t want be able to dine with him later. Jesus gave him a parable to explain the point. The parable was about a man who gave a party and invited many to come but kept getting lame excuses. One needed to go see about some property he had bought. Another needed to see about some oxen he had just bought. The last man had just gotten married and would rather spend his time with his new wife. So, the master told his servant to go out to the streets and invite the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind. When there was still room he told his servant to go out to the derelicts on the outskirts of town and bring them in. But, none of the original invitees would be able to get in. Interesting that Jesus had just told them to do the very same thing. Maybe if they did what he said they would have been given a heart like God’s and be able to understand God’s great invitation to come and dine. Lord, this was a great reminder that we are always invited to come and dine at your table. May we not pass up this great opportunity every day.