Surprisingly, His words don't always say just what we think They sometimes sound harsh to us until we realize He spoke the truth in love. In fact, His words sometimes hurt, sting and hit all to close to home.
One thing I noticed today in my reading is how often Jesus spoke to us in parables to get us to understand that all the people who think they are Christians are not. Consider the parable in Matthew about the wedding banquet. Jesus tells us that God's kingdom is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. Everything was perfect and the meal was ready. He sent his messengers out to tell the guests to come to the feast! Some were too busy, some didn't care and some even beat up the messengers and killed them. He ended up inviting everyone on the streets! When they came in, some weren't fit for the kingdom and were thrown out. Jesus says, "that's what I mean when I say, "many get invited; only a few make it.'"
Think about that parable. God has promised us an eternal banquet. He's given us free admission if we choose to follow Him, by His amazing grace. But most of us don't even care enough to get ready for the feast. It's a lot of trouble and might make us miss out on some earthly pleasure.
It's been 2000 years ago, but people haven't changed much. Jesus said it best, "I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God's kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won't let anyone else in either." Here in America, many of us have the idea that all of us will go to heaven except the really, really bad people. This is not the message of the Bible. Jesus is clear that few will enter His kingdom even though He extends the invitation to everyone.
I pray that we all can listen and obey Jesus' words. He wants us to join Him in paradise and feast with Him eternally. Are we ashamed of Him? Are we too busy to care? Are we dressed like Pharisees?
Thanks for the lovely "invitation" Beth. Good blog!!
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