Sunday worship at church...
Someone shared a prophetic word at the microphone up front from Luke 14:16-24 where Jesus tells of a man who prepared a banquet for people. Everyone he invited made excuses though, saying they had to go check out their field, another had to go examine his oxen, and another was getting married. Standing their with my eyes closed listening to the words, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of those men. They had to go check on their field or their oxen! What were they going to do, go check Bessie for fleas while Jesus has a banquet prepared for them?! Oh, it seems so absurd and what was so convicting at the same time was that I knew I was just as absurd in my own life. Every morning, God invites me to a banquet that he's prepared for me. And what is my excuse?
Wait, Lord, let me eat my Grape Nuts and check my email!
It's kinda funny because it's so crazy but it's really so serious at the same time. The parable ends with the man saying that none of those men would taste the banquet. I was so thankful to hear that scripture Sunday morning because it seemed handpicked by God for my heart and afterwards, as we sang Be thou my vision, Lord of my heart..., my heart just wanted to run to Jesus and be close to him. God has been using those words already this week in convicting me to drop everything and go to the banquet. I love when Jesus uses such stories to show how really stupid I am and to wake me up from deadly habits. This morning was one of a little painful adjustment and reminding myself to go to the banquet but I was so glad I did...
I also read a wonderful post from Mark Driscoll today and I loved the quote he used from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
“Only in fellowship do we learn to be rightly alone and only in aloneness do we learn to be rightly in fellowship.”
I can so relate with this right now as I struggle to be satisfied in Christ during both alone times and during times with other people. The two seem to feed each other though and build on one another. I really want to learn not to go back and forth between focusing too much on one end of the spectrum but to learn how they both relate and when the Spirit is leading me to spend my time in a certain way. My heart really just cries out to be satisfied in Jesus but I guess it is learning how that is played out in the everyday of mingled solitude and relationships.
