Will You Come to the Feast?

The other day I was looking at this blog and thought, "This is shameful; we started this blog to be an encouragement to each other even after we were scattered across the world, and it is almost dead." I determined then to do CPR on it and I am asking you all to help. Let's see if we can get it to come alive.

My thoughts this afternoon stem from the message my dad preached this morning. I'll start with a story.

One day, a great Lord decided to prepare a feast for his friends. His preparations were made to the extent of his resources, which were massive, actually the greatest in the land. When the day came, he sent his manservant around to give his friends an invitation in person. At the first house, no one came to the door. Going around to the back, the servant found the man of the house getting ready to leave.

"I have come with an invitation for you." The servant gave the message, and was surprised at the answer.

"How nice, but I really can't come today. You see, I just bought a piece of land, and I've got to go look at it. Tell my friend thanks, but it will have to be another time."

The servant went on his way, puzzled by the attitude of the man who professed to be his master's best friend. The servant came to the next place, and his knock was answered by the person he wanted to see.

"My master sends you an invitation to come to the feast he has prepared for you today."

"Oh, uhh... I would come, but..., you see I just bought ten oxen and I have got to go see if they are as good as the man who sold them to me said they were. He tried to rip me off, but I worked down to price and got a real bargain! Do you want to come see them?"

"Excuse me, but I have other things to do," and with that the servant turned to leave.

"Say, tell your master thanks, but I really must be excused this time."

The servant went on the next house, a man who would accept the invitation, if for nothing else but for the reason that he lived alone, and was of a social nature. He knocked on the door, waited, and knocked again. The man came to the door, dressed up, looking like he was ready to go to the feast.

"My master invites you to his house for a feast he has prepared, but maybe you've already heard?"

"No, I didn't, why did you think... oh, because I'm dressed up! No, I'm going out with my wife. I just got married the other day!"

"Wonderful! Bring her along! My master will be delighted to meet her!"

"Well, there's a problem. My wife would be pretty upset if I didn't do what we planned. Maybe some other time? I'm sure my friend will understand. It's not like I'm going to get married every week!" With that he turned back into the house.

Every one of the people that the master had invited had some sort of excuse. The servant returned to his master and reported the responses. His master was angry at the excuses of his friends.

"Go," He said to his servant, "bring all the poor, the lame, the old, and the blind people from the streets of the city."

The servant did so and said to the master, "I have do so, and there is still room."

The master said, "Go then to the highway, and the lanes and compel anyone and everyone you meet to come. I want my house filled up. I want none of those invited to come last minute and taste my supper."

Ok, you know this is the parable from Luke 14. I filled in a few details, but that is all. The message my dad preached was on fasting. Fasting is a deliberate abstinence from anything that is good, for the purpose of focusing on God. It is not just not eating. There are so many things that can become a focus in our lives and take our focus off of God. As this parable shows, it is not just food that can be an idol to us. Jesus uses food as the reason for the gathering of the master's friends. The friends idols (by idol I mean something that takes the place or is considered before our Master) were good things in themselves, land, cattle, and a wife! The problem started when those things took preference over the feast of the master.

Stop and consider, what are the things in your life that you give preference to- i.e. do first when you have a little time. Do you spend time praying, reading the Bible, worshiping God? Or do you grab your book, watch a movie, go shopping, get on Facebook, ...you name it? None of these things are bad in themselves, in the right time and place. But do they prevent you from going to the Master's feast? You may say, oh, but that is not an idol to me. I challenge you, try doing without it! You will shortly find out if it is an idol or not! It is not only the things you do in your spare time either. Your work, sleep, food, clothes, money, social position, friends, yourself; do you consider these things before you do what God asks of you? Would you give anything or everything up for Him? Does the thought of time spent alone with your Bible, seeking and worshiping God fill you with delight or bore you? Do you long for God, and yet never find that sweet fellowship you have heard of yet never experienced? Maybe it is time for you to fast and pray. Fast from anything that is taking your focus off of God, anything that keep's you from the Master's feast. Leave the land, the oxen will wait, bring your wife along! Only do not neglect the Master!

This is not exactly what my dad preached, but my thoughts following the sermon. It hit home to me, and painful as it is to admit, I have idols in my life. I have been asking God lately to be All in All to me, I want Christ to really be Enough, (yea, He is more than enough!) for me, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. But I have been struggling. I see now that part of my problem is that I have idols in my life, things I consider and put before my time with God. I love to read, and I find myself picking up my book before my Bible. When I pray, my mind soon wanders. I turn my back on the Master and His feast, for the things of this world. God help me! How do I expect to get direction, grace and strength from Him if I neglect to spend time with Him? Or just stop in quick and say "Hey, thanks for all you've done for me, I'm in a hurry, so would you help me with this problem I have?" and them run off before He has time to answer? I admire the Christians of old, and wonder that there are so few truly Christ-like men and women these days. I, myself, fall so far short of who I should be as a child of God. How do I expect others to see Christ in me if I do not spend time with Christ? How can I tell others that Christ is more than enough, that He will meet every need, if I do not know the reality of it myself? How will I know that reality if I do not spend time with Him , if He is not first in my life? I pray that I can find Him this week as I seek to truly put Him FIRST in my life.