Invite Who?!

Invite who?!
By Susan Martin

But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:13-14

“Let’s have a cook out,” declared my husband. It was my father-in-law’s birthday and we had gotten a steal on some yummy steaks. As we began to plan a menu and prepare a grocery list, we realized we needed to decide who we would invite to this cook out. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well… My daughter had recently begun dating a young man that we weren’t exactly fond of. Let’s just say we were certain he couldn’t possibly be God’s best for our precious princess! We were trying to discourage the relationship as much as possible, with hopes that time would bring it to and end with little damage done. Now how were we going to manage this guest list and not include the new boyfriend?

Early in the morning as I sat down to do my daily quite time, I opened my Bible to the daily assignment which was Luke 14. Since I don’t believe in coincidences, I can only assume that God had a special message for me on this day. “…invite the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind.” “Hmmm, who do I know that could fit in this category, Lord?” “The boyfriend, Susan.” “Excuse me?” “You heard, Me. The one you don’t want to invite. INVITE him!” “But he’s not poor, maimed, lame or blind, God! He’s just lacking in many ways, he’s… spiritually poor. Okay, maybe he is poor. But he’s not maimed, he just grew up with parents that made some really bad choices and he’s… wounded and scarred. Okay, maybe he is maimed and lame. But God, he is definitely not blind! I see how he looks at my daughter and I am not liking it. He doesn’t know your ways, he’s… he’s… blind. Oh, Lord, forgive me! I have not been good, loving and merciful have I?”

Is there someone in your life that you need to invite in to feast with you today? Is there someone that needs to feel the mercy and love of our Savior and Lord? You may have to look no further than to the person you have the most trouble loving!

Jesus said, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. Luke 6:32-33
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36

May God open your heart and mind to the works that He is doing and invite you to join Him!