'Excuse Me'

   I don’t know about you, but I’ve had plenty of dinner invitations that I respectfully declined. It’s hard to fit all of life’s opportunities in the schedule sometimes. And let’s be honest, sometimes we would really just rather spend our time a different way or with different people. The commitment that ties up one of our precious calendar blocks for an evening is hard to make.
   “And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.” (Luke 14:17-18a English Standard Version)
   In this passage, Jesus is the one making the invitation; He is gathering a group of people to Himself for a glorious celebration feast, and He wants us to be included!  But what excuses do we make in life that keep us from fully following the Lord? Times have not really changed much since the days when Jesus spoke this parable to the people. It is easy to see the invitation of Christ as another of life’s obligations, and begin to make excuses. 
   Like the first group from the first century parable, we say “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.” (Luke 14:18 ESV)  Our possessions and purchases rule over us to a point where there is just no time or space left in our lives to include Christ. ‘Excuse ...