Luke 14:15-25 – Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'”
Many of us know what this parable or “truth” is conveying, but do we really know what it is saying?
Most of us love to go to events that are fun, like a football game, or a concert of some sort. But when it comes to a “call” for us to gather with the Lord, most people’s mind tend to have a valid reason that they can’t make it. Now this article is not to make anyone feel condemn, but it is written to bring forth part truth that may help free those that read it.
As you can see in Jesus’ response to the person that is praising Him, discerns that the person is not really committed to the Lord, he or she is more into just praising the Lord. These types of people, which is a large percentage, are those that “say” they will do something with their mouth, but never move their legs to walk it out. These are those that will not enter in any type of movement with God, nor will they get to taste what God is doing if they arrive late to the event. To God, valid excuses never excuse our commitments we make. Jesus could have had all the valid excuses Himself.
As in today, there were many religious events going on while Jesus was walking the earth. Because of that, it was easy to miss the “real” “One” that had now showed up in the flesh. This takes us to
the other aspect of this parable. Most of us have been so inundated with religious activity, that when the “real” comes along, and even our own heart stir with hope to let us know that it is the “one”, subconsciously our previous disappointments and “let downs” resurface, causing us to think that the “real opportunity” is just another event or disappointment, and that we can always make it some other time. Our minds then validate our own rationalations for our actions or inactions. We can’t allow our past discouragements be a stumbling block for our next call or invitation from God. This is a trick of the enemy. As it was during the days of Jesus, so shall it be for this day. Stay awake, for He calls His own first, but we must answer the call with our legs, and not our mouth. We can do it!!!