The Table is Prepared
- Christmas Dinner
Matthew 22:2 -4 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, “and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. ”Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”‘
For several weeks we had been planning our Christmas Dinner, and invited many family members. We were busy preparing, planning the menu and making sure the house and yard were in perfect condition.
While the dinner itself was a success, not everyone arrived. There were excuses, and hearing the excuses I was reminded of the parable mentioned above.
It was our desire to not only open up our home and feed the family, but to feed them the word of God and to share Jesus, the real reason for the Christmas season.
For those that were present, Fernando was able to share a gospel message, and pray a blessing over the food. We noticed as Fernando spoke, there were listening ears, and even positive comments the next day.
We have been praying for their salvation for quite some time, and we use every opportunity we can to share Jesus.
God never imposes His will on anyone, and we should not either. All of us have an open invitation to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, as the Son of Man who died for us so that we can have eternal life. But the truth is, not everyone will accept Him, just like our dinner invitation.
Were we sad that some members did not show up? Yes, but not because of the food and family time they missed , but about missing out again on the gospel message.
Our desire is to share Christ, and we have to accept that not everyone will accept Him, or us.
So what comes next? We continue doing what we are doing. We don´t stop, and we let those that reject Christ move on, and we move on.
Blessings in Him.
Amen Yvette! We must let nothing stop us from spreading the message and love of God to others. I love the way your family celebrates holidays and get together. What a blessing that is! I pray your tradition continues with your family members who have received the Lord into their heart and lives. May your blessed circle never be broken. To God be all the glory!
There are some people that would decline our invitation and if you just continue on inviting them at some point of their life they will realize something.
We can’t save the world! Only God can, but He will never override anyone’s will. Our job is to keep on pointing people to Christ, and the decision to follow or to walk away is theirs. Most of my family are not saved, and I tried to witness to one of my cousins at our Christmas get together, who I only see once or twice a year….my words came out all wrong…then the door to Christ was closed. In my spirit, I realize that I’m probably not the one to lead Him to his salvation in Christ, but seeds were planted…and then I thought of how Jesus was rejected in His home town.
I’ve come to understand, when it comes to family, I have to just let God shine through me, and pray for my loved ones. Maybe one day, they’ll come to me.
Anyway..good post. Sorry, I just had to let that out.