“When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Luke 14:13-14
Who comes to your house for dinner? Do you extend hospitality to those who may not be able to return the gesture in kind or whose presence in your home may cause inconvenience? Or do you operate on “do what will pay off in undisturbed pleasures, convenience, domestic comfort, and social tranquility” (John Piper, 1980)?
The command of Jesus in this passage is startling. Who really makes it a practice to invite the disabled to their dinner parties? Who invites those that cannot repay them? God does! That is exactly what He does every time we take the Lord’s Supper. We can’t repay God for the grace and mercy He has extended to us in Christ, yet He invites us to dine at His table. We are to share this grace and mercy by doing something similar in our own hospitality.
Whom we associate with is important to God because it reveals where our treasure lies. “Is [Jesus] our treasure or is the world? … Are [we] willing to inconvenience ourselves for those who can’t repay, or … avoid them and so preserve our placid routine?” (John Piper)
The command of Jesus in this passage is startling. Who really makes it a practice to invite the disabled to their dinner parties? Who invites those that cannot repay them? God does! That is exactly what He does every time we take the Lord’s Supper. We can’t repay God for the grace and mercy He has extended to us in Christ, yet He invites us to dine at His table. We are to share this grace and mercy by doing something similar in our own hospitality.
Whom we associate with is important to God because it reveals where our treasure lies. “Is [Jesus] our treasure or is the world? … Are [we] willing to inconvenience ourselves for those who can’t repay, or … avoid them and so preserve our placid routine?” (John Piper)
Scripture Focus
Luke 14:12-24
Insight
“Riches I heed not, nor vain empty praise,/Thou mine inheritance, now and always./ … HighKing of heaven, my treasure thou art.” (Mary E.Byrne, 1905)
Bible In A Year
- Job 9-10
- Psalm 47
- Luke 10
