The Party of a Lifetime

I don't know about you, but I love parties. Of any kind. It usually means delicious food, great music, and good times with family or friends.

If you were invited to the party of a lifetime, wouldn't you drop everything to go? Of course you would. You get that fabulous invitation in the mail, and you RSVP...immediately. There is nothing on your calendar that would keep you from going to this party.


Well, in Luke 14, Jesus tells a story about this grand party where many are invited, but when the day of the party arrives and the food is ready, the invited start making excuses. One has to go stare at a piece of land he just bought. (Sounds quite boring to me.) Another has to go and try out his new oxen. (Work instead of a party, really?) And yet another person has the excuse of just getting married. (Ok, that would might warrant a little validation, but why can't you just bring the wife?) 


A couple of things stood out to me. 

• These that have made excuses have ALREADY rsvp'd to the party. They have already accepted the invitation. 

          ...How many times have I said yes to God and then not followed through with my commitment? I said yes with my mouth and no with my actions.

• The guy going to look at his land obviously got wrapped up in his property...his stuff.

          ...Though I am not tempted to go and stare at my belongings, I can very easily get distracted and consumed by my stuff. Even the maintenance of the stuff can be overwhelming.

• The invitee that had to go experiment with his new workhorses (aka oxen) seemed to have his work as his first priority.

         ...Ok, so farming is not a temptation for me. But, the very ministry to which God called me can often take precedence over the amazing God that did the calling.

• The final person to make an excuse for not actually coming to the party was the one who had just married. Marriage is obviously very important, but enough to warrant turning down the party of a lifetime?

        ...This one is hard. My family is a gift and one that I have been given to love, protect, and nurture. However, my family must see that God is my number one priority. Putting God first enables me to be the wife and the mother I need to be. 

God invites. We need to say yes with our mouths AND our actions. And all these other things? Trust God with them. There will always be things that vie for our attention.

What about you? Have you said yes with your mouth and no with your actions? Are you distracted or consumed with your stuff? Your work? Your family?

We don't want to miss this party!!!

Learning every day...

Kelli

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