ARE YOU DELIGHTING OR DISAPPOINTING THE LORD?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
When one of those at the table with him heard this,
he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at
the feast in the kingdom of God.” 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.’
(Luke 14:15-17)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever thought about the things that delight the Lord and
the things that disappoint Him? We know He is disappointed when
we disobey His commands, but what about other times, when He is
disappointed by those He has invited to sit at His table?

We know of His banquet table in Heaven, but where is it here
on earth? It makes sense that it would be at His house, right?
Home is where we set our tables, share our food, and invite
others to join us.

In Luke 14, Jesus talks about someone who had invited many to join
him for a banquet at his house. Once everything was ready, He sent
his servant to tell many guests to come and enjoy a time of fellowship
with him. Imagine his disappointment when one by one they made
excuses for not joining Him.

However, he was not going to allow this time of fellowship to be wasted.
He gave his servant new instructions to go through the town and invite
those who would enjoy spending time with him. We aren’t told what
they were doing at the time, or what their plans were for the day. All
we know is, they set aside whatever priorities they had so they could
spend time with the host who invited them.

The master said,
    “I tell you, not one of those who were
      invited will get a taste of my banquet.”
      (Luke 14:24)
In other words, those who were making excuses would not enjoy
the blessings he had prepared for them. Why not? Because they
decided other things were more important than fellowshipping
with him.

I could be wrong, but it certainly seems that Jesus told this
story for all to understand that He has blessings prepared
for His invitees (those who want to spend time with Him).

If that’s true, then we can imagine how He is disappointed
when He sees His followers making excuses for not coming
to His table and receiving the blessings He has for them.

Jesus tells us that many have lost
their love for spending time with Him.
    “Salt is good, but if it loses its
      saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”
      (Luke 14:34)

He also implies that once we have lost that love, we might
never recapture it again. What a great loss that would be,
especially when we consider all He has prepared for us.

We can see the impact He had on the hearts of His disciples.
    The apostles said to the Lord,
    “Increase our faith!”
    (Luke 17:5)
Even though they were with Him daily, they didn’t want to
lose their saltiness.

He gives instructions to those who have accepted His invitation:
When he noticed how the guests picked the places
of honor at the table, he told them this parable:
    “When someone invites you to a wedding feast,
      do not take the place of honor, for a person more
      distinguished than you may have been invited. If
      so, the host who invited both of you will come and
      say to you,
          ‘Give this person your seat.’
      Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least
      important place. But when you are invited, take
      the lowest place, so that when your host comes,
      he will say to you,
          ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’
      Then you will be honored in the presence of all
      the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves
      will be humbled, and those who humble themselves
      will be exalted.”
      (Luke 14:7-11)

He tells us that those who join Him should come with
humility, and not with any arrogant pride (thinking
they are better than anyone else).

Now, let’s look at how Jesus uses three
parables to show what delights Him.

The first parable is about a shepherd who lost one of
one hundred sheep, and after searching the country,
he was delighted to find it again.
    (Luke 15:3-7)

The second parable is about a woman who loses one of
ten coins, and after thoroughly cleaning her house, she
was delighted to find it again.
    (Luke 15:8-10)

The last parable is about a father who lost one of his two
sons to worldly living and he was delighted when the son
humbly returned to his home.
    (Luke 15:11-24)

In the first parable, one percent was lost;
in the second parable, ten percent was lost;
in the last parable, fifty percent was lost.

No matter how much had been lost, there was rejoicing
because the ones lost were either found, or returned on
their own. These parables help us understand how the
Lord is delighted whenever He sees one of His followers
returning to their first love for Him, with a renewed
spirit and desire to spend time with Him.

ACTION:
How are you responding to the Lord’s invitation to come to
His house, not only to increase your faith (saltiness), but also
because you delight in spending time with Him? In addition,
you have a strong desire to receive and enjoy the blessings
He has for you.

Do you disappoint Him with your excuses, or do you delight
Him by responding to His invitation? Are you losing your
saltiness, or increasing it? If you have lost your saltiness,
what decision do you need to make to restore it?

Jesus has invited you to ‘come to His table’; how will you respond?
We disappoint Him when we refuse His invitation, but we also miss
out on the blessings He has for us.
    “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there
      may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the
      Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the
      floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing
      that there will not be room enough to store it.
      (Malachi 3:10)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your invitation for
me to join You at Your table. Forgive me if I have been
making excuses for not accepting Your invitation. I don’t
want to disappoint You, or lose my saltiness. Increase my
faith so I will delight You when I continually accept Your
invitations to spend time with You. If I am allowing my
selfishness to keep me away, remind me of how You
suffered for me on the cross. Create in me a desire to
love and delight You, as much as You love me, and want
to bless me when I come to Your table.”

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