In Luke 14, Jesus tells a story about a man who threw a wedding banquet for his son. All of his invited guests--the pretty people, the ones you thought would accept an invitation to the Oscars--made excuses. The master said, fine (he was pretty angry), and sent his servants out to gather in the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame. The beautiful people have their own agendas, their own source of confidence. It is the point where you know you have nothing that you realize you do indeed need God.
I saw a Facebook page the other day called "Hookers for Jesus." This page was an invitation along the lines of Jesus' story: come as you are. Don't wait to clean up and make yourself beautiful; you need Him now. The banquet is ready, and your seat is waiting.
I was once helping a pastor with a group game at a church event. We were playing a trivia game and awarding prizes, and for some reason, we needed to select a second group apart from the obvious winner. I said, "Choose the table with the lowest score," and the pastor rebuked me with the comment, "No, Angie. We don't reward losers at this church."
Too bad. God loves losers. It's often the losers who bother to listen to Him. I should make a Facebook page called "Losers for Jesus."
We do not need to revel in our sinfulness, but don't paint it over and pretend it's not there. Jesus died for us because we are weak and we fail. Our weaknesses qualify us for His table. Bon appetit.
4 comments:
:D I love this post.
Awesome, Jesus said a lot of things that doesn't seem to be reflected in some Christian values today, it's nice to be reminded.
This is beautiful Angie. It really gives me s.omething to think about. Thank you
I love this post. If Jesus didn't love losers, he didn't love me.
It also touches on a real nerve with me about the role of the church. I grew up in that "we don't reward losers" kind of atmosphere. I'm pretty sure God never intended church to be that way.
--MJ
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