You Are Invited

This year Lovel and I are planning on hosting for Thanksgiving and Christmas. After 30 years of traveling for the holidays, we are both looking forward to having family around our dinner table. Every family is unique and gatherings around the holidays can bring laughter, joy, sometimes hurt feelings but also reconciliation. Regardless of your family dynamic and the current state of your relationships, there should always be a place for you at the table.

Jesus spoke about this very thing in His parable about having a feast and inviting everyone. In His wisdom, we learn that we should not just invite those we agree with, like us or feel they deserve to be there. Jesus teaches us to not only invite all but to also treat them with dignity when they arrive. Notice He does not say we have to agree, condone or support but simply invite, respect and love.

In the Song of Solomon, a book in the Bible that is sometimes misused and misunderstood, the writer(s) speaks about the love between a man and a woman (husband and wife) which many equate to the love that Jesus has for the church. In the fourth verse of the second chapter, the writer says, He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. In other words, we are invited to the table and the theme for the banquet is love.

As our country moves forward under new leadership with an opportunity to unite us with common goals, values and challenges, how wonderful to know that ALL of us are invited to sit at the table with Jesus. Have you accepted His invitation?

Pastor Aaron