Luke 14:16-20

Scripture makes it plain – all are invited unfortunately few choose. Free will and predestination living side by side throughout Scripture -God’s foreknowledge and man’s culpability both presented clearly within its pages. To deny either doctrine is not to hold to the truth of all of Scripture. Scripture states we were “chosen out of” and “determined beforehand” by God to be holy and blameless and adopted as His children through Christ:

4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- Eph 1:3-5 (NIV)

At the same time, Scripture also makes it clear that Jesus died for all and that the invitation to believe in Him and be saved is extended to all. We are held responsible for either our acceptance of or our rejection of Christ:

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3:36 (NIV)

In our verses for today Jesus is telling a parable describing His people, the Jews, who were simply too preoccupied to accept the invitation of the Master of the banquet. Their excuses appear quite lame – a field bought, five oxen purchased, newly married. These preoccupations seem rather inconsequential in light of eternity do they not? How often we make like excuses from following the call of our Savior. The still small voice that keeps urging us we quiet with our busyness and our multitudes of distractions and interests. Constantly putting off our acceptance of Christ or our following hard after Him, we are reminiscent of those the prophet Haggai ministered to in his day. The word from God to His people through this prophet fits our times as well:

2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.'"

3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?" Hag 1:2-4 (NIV)

Today people still continue to put off their acceptance of Christ choosing rather to fully consider Him at a later date. Believers also choose to delay their work of “building their temples” in following hard after Christ. God’s temple or dwelling place is now within the hearts of those who believe therefore we can take what was meant literally by the prophet Haggai in rebuilding the temple of God, figuratively. We become so distracted in all of our busyness that we neglect the most important things – the old tyranny of the urgent creeps in and before you know it we have wasted a life discovering it to be not satisfying and fruitless – which aptly describes a life disregarding the Lord Jesus. In this little two page book of Haggai God states no less than five times: “Give careful thought to your ways”. We find within its pages:

5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." Hag 1:5-6 (NIV)

Basically, their activities had proven fruitless and not satisfying. Going about business as usual with no consideration or preeminence to God and their relationship with Him, the Israelites give us a wonderful reflection of our own times. God’s chastening of them turned their hearts back to Him. Lovingly, He disciplined them for their good. We have been given one shot at this life – one. How unloving it would be for God not to chastise His wayward children. We should have no more lame excuses.