When is your excuse good enough...
Yesterday (Monday) and today's 90 day NT challenge is Luke 16 - 18 & Luke 19 - 21.
The short answer to the title is *never* but let's learn things together from this passage...
Luke 14: “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready. ’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused. ’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused. ’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. ’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame. ’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room. ’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.
Many have been invited to the great banquet soon approaching but how often do we hear people making their excuses. People like to find any reason they can to give as an excuse for not attending or accepting and invitation to church, connect group, altar call invite, acceptance prayer, forgiveness, ect... The real problem is that they are rejecting God. Let's not take it personal when people reject you after sharing Christ and inviting them into Kingdom life. People are rejecting God! If a person is going to reject God then of course they will find a reason to reject the messenger. This rejection always hurts and takes time to work through, but again they are rejecting God, so don't quit.
What is the solution when the people you are inviting keep rejecting the invitation? Change the type of person you are inviting. Find people a different sort of people to invite. Expand your search... look for hurting people... look for hungry people... have a dinner and invite people who you know can never repay your kindness with equal value gifts... Go out on a search and rescue mission.
This year we need to begin to go out to other cities, where we are all from, and begin holding banquets where we will invite the poor, lame, hurting, blind, and give them an invitation to accept Christ. Whose in? Let's pick a city, maybe your home town, and lets do it.
PJ