Jan. 14, 2014

Luke 14:   ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind

Jesus is telling about humility.  He is telling about how we must hate this life in order to move to the next.  He is giving instructions about how to move into the next life.

If we would follow Jesus, we cannot go with our first inclinations.  They tell us to invite those we really like to our banquet.  We want to surround ourselves with those who reinforce our ideas of how clever, beautiful, special we are.  Jesus wants us to stretch--to invite those who repel us.  We have to see all our neighbors as God's children.  And we have to show our love for the unlovable.

Prayer:  It is not easy to follow Your word.  We have to fight our self-interest.  We need to extend our love and hospitality to all those You love, not just the ones we find it so easy to love.  Guide me to represent Your love for me in my interactions with everyone, even the unlovable.
Amen