The Invitation from God is Freely Given and Should be Freely Accepted

Most if not all of us have hosted dinner parties where certain guests that were invited did not attend, and most if not all of us have been invited to dinner parties we have chosen not to attend. I’m sure none of us enjoy attending a dinner party out of obligation and guilt when we would rather be doing something else, and I’m sure none of us would prefer having guests attend our dinner party when they didn’t really want to be there in the first place.

 

The same is true when it comes to the Heavenly Banquet. The Lord has invited each of us to join Him at the Heavenly Banquet and is waiting for our response. It is a simple invitation: “Come, for all things are now ready.” (Luke 14.17) The rest is up to us…will we accept the Lord’s invitation?

 

As we hear in the Gospel, not everyone accepts His invitation. When the servants had called all those invited, “They all with one accord began to make excuses.” (Luke 14.18) In response, the Lord didn’t try to guilt them into accepting, nor did He force them to attend. Rather, He went out and invited others to attend so His “House may be filled.” (Luke 14.23)

 

Only one question remains; will we accept His invitation or make excuses? He won’t force us to accept and He doesn’t want us to come out of fear or guilt. The invitation is freely given to us and He desires us to freely accept it.