Luke 15:15
Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
If you know me, I've a mean rebellious streak. I'm never one for traditions and would question rationale and reasons of why things are being done. I guess the years of attending so many church meetings and having returned with nothing has resulted in me being very closed minded when it comes to attending events I perceive have no value to me. Everything is really about me, my time and myself.
Therefore, I'm really grateful for God's willingness to not let me be and spiral into a life of self-destruct. Instead, He works in my life through gracious promptings of His intentions for me, often it goes past my hardened, stubborn shell and I nudge myself to submit.
These 2 nights, church re-organised its annual leaders retreat from an overseas camp format into 2 nightly seminars. I've never felt the need to attend the annual retreat so when the invitation for the 2 night seminars was delivered to me via post, I groaned. It did help that the speaker would be Ps Naomi Dowdy, someone esteemed and is really hard to secure.
Somehow, I knew in me that I needed to let go of all my biased thoughts and feeling to attend, in-spite of the nagging feeling of dread. Even in the time as I walked to church, I struggled with the act of obedience. Times like this, being a matured christian really isn't a good thing as we have too much 'baggage' and aren't as hungry for God as new christians.
As the revelations of God spoke to me through the teaching of the word, each sharp and clear, I knew I was predestined to come. God and me needed that simple, but important session.
Sadly, many of my fellow commanders weren't there and it convicted me that we who serve actively, often forget to return back to God's presence to feed. That's why, we end up serving the ministry in our own competencies and without new revelations of how to break the challenges facing our lives and ministry. Simply because if we can't be bothered to go back to God for new directions and to be renewed at significant milestones, there is little reason why God will want to give us more tasks and increase the works we do for His kingdom based on our old understanding.
As you read the parable of the wedding banquet in Luke 14, may you and I learn to be sensitive to obediently RSVP to the invitations sent out by our church leaders and God.
M.
"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13)
