PUSH AHEAD: I must be first I really must!

"Don't push yourself forward",  Jesus said this in Luke 14.  Now that's a pretty odd thing to say in this day and age. Pushing yourself forward is pretty much a given.

We drove into the city last night to have a meal with our son, daughter-in-law, and our grandson. We had a great night, so good to catch up with family. We don't go into the city much anymore. I guess, like other places around, most things are catered for in the growing suburbs. As we were driving in, I was pretty astonished not only at the buildings that are new to our city but also at their extreme height.

All the lights were blazing, and traffic was unbelievably heavy. Everyone was heading somewhere. So anxious to get ahead of you and darting here and there, swapping lanes and getting ahead. I couldn't help but relate so well to how, not so long ago, most drivers were just a tad courteous, but now how things have changed.

The constant pushing of the drivers behind us to go faster.  I couldn't believe my eyes at the new buildings, skyscrapers, and everything that is constantly happening, even as you look at it.  I related it so well to what Jesus said in Luke 14, which is well worth the read. 

Jesus was at a banquet, and all the guests were jostling around trying to get into first place for the meal and the best seats.  Just like our drivers in the city last night, jostling for first place. He ended up telling a parable about not pushing yourselves forward, don't honour yourselves, but be prepared to take the lowly seat, and you will be rewarded.

It's a great parable well worth the read. It simply says don't spend all your time and energy on rich and famous people, spend everything you have on others who can't repay you - don't worry about being first.

It was a Sabbath, and in those days, absolutely nothing could be done on the Sabbath. Well, that was what was supposed to have happened. There in front of him was a man who was desperately in need of medical care, and Jesus came out with, "Is it lawful to heal someone on the Sabbath?" No one there said anything at all. So Jesus healed him, and off the guy went. Pretty happy, I would imagine.

After that, the Pharisees were horrified to think that here was this guy healing someone on the Sabbath day. What next? They would have cried out to themselves - never brave enough to say it out loud, but together secretly they all got together and devised and planned Jesus' crucifixion. 

They didn't even concern themselves with the absolute miracle that just took place - all they could think about was how they could get this person out of the way and to stop him influencing others and taking the limelight from them!

The Pharisees certainly wanted to be number one in everything, certainly not give in to some person talking about God the Father and Himself, and even performing amazing miracles of all things!

Has anything changed in the world? Certainly not, as we found out last night, in just the simple things like having to be first in the traffic lane and having to pass anyone and anything as long as you can get around them, no matter what.

Sadly, so many times today, very similar things happen.  For example, how many times, even on television and other places, do you hear Jesus' name used as swearing? No one else's name in the whole world is ever used in this fashion. So many people, with Satan's influence, put Jesus down. Whoever uses  Jesus' name in cursing, joking, or even just as a 'maybe' will certainly be held accountable when we all come before our Lord and God. Today's world often has the "put Jesus down and make me number one" attitude. 

When one of the guests at the wedding feast heard Jesus ask the Question, " Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?", he said, "Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."  I feel he realized that the kingdom of God was going to be open to everyone, not just those in Israel.

Jesus then told the following story because not everyone will get to heaven. The parable that follows is certainly aimed at the very fact that all of Christianity will be open to the world, and not just those who believe and live in Israel.

The kingdom of heaven is open to all who believe and open their hearts to Christ. Is that you? Unfortunately, especially in today's world, so many people put themselves way ahead of not only those around them but the whole world in general.

Jesus then told the following parable:  "The master of the house 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.

But they all began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'

Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'

Still another aid, 'I just got married, so I can't come." The servant came back and reported this to the master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered the servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.'

'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' Then the master told the servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet."

The parable that Jesus told had an immense message. In the parable, the master of the house, the owner of the house, the organiser, or the person preparing the great banquet IS God. The servant that "The master" sent out was Jesus, and so the story continues. 

In the story, all the people rejecting the invitation to the banquet and all the stupid excuses they come up with are those who are rejecting Jesus. The story was then aimed at the very fact that Jesus was opening up the way of salvation to all, not just those in Israel.

If we reject the invitation to come to Christ, we are virtually saying, " We are so attached to everything else other than you, God, we can't accept your invitation to eternal life. Sorry about that!"

We need to come to a realisation and actually ask ourselves: are we too attached to life here and so involved in life that we are unable to accept God's open arms and invitations to come to him and his amazing invitation to his kingdom?

We so need to put God first in our lives, and everything else becomes second place, no matter what that may be. It certainly doesn't mean we have to live as hermits somewhere and give everything away, but what it does mean, and it certainly means, is that we have to put God first in everything, and I mean everything. 

Of course, we dearly love our family, our home, our work, in fact, everything. God doesn't stop our love for all the things that he has blessed us with.

Do you need to give your life to Christ? That is truly something that you really need to consider. You can ask him into your life to lead you and guide you, and he will.

Hope to see you next time