Who Will Eat Bread in God’s Kingdom? - The Crosswalk Devotional - March 3
Who Will Eat Bread in God’s Kingdom?
By Deidre Braley
Bible Reading:
When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God. – Luke 14:15
Our pastor once shared a story I’ll never forget. He was telling the congregation about a former missions trip he’d taken to Africa, where he and a small group of others had traveled to a tiny, impoverished village to help provide medical care to the people who lived there.
When they arrived, he noticed two things: first, that they were living in extreme poverty, and second, that they were the most joyful people he’d ever met. A couple of nights into their stay, he sat down for a meal with a group of the villagers. When he asked how he and his church might pray for them, one of the women laughed and said, “Pray for us? We pray for you!”
She went on to explain: “For us, our greatest joy is God, but in your country, you are so rich you don’t even recognize that you need him. It is you who we pray for!”
Jesus highlights this same point in Luke when he tells the Pharisees the parable of the large banquet. The story went like this: a man was planning a lavish banquet, to which he had invited many people. When the meal was ready, he sent his servant out to go tell everyone who’d been invited to come feast and enjoy (Luke 14:16-17).
But everyone who’d been invited had one excuse after another for not being able to come. One person had a new field to tend, another had oxen to wrangle, and still another had just gotten married (Luke 14:18-20).
When the servant came back alone, the master was furious. He sent him back out, saying, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame” (Luke 14:21).
Even after the servant had done so, there was still room, so the master sent him back out to look in even the “highways and hedges” (Luke 14:23) for more guests. He had a glorious banquet prepared, and this man wanted a full house! The master’s final words in this story have always sent a chill down my spine: “For I tell you, not one of those people who were invited will enjoy my banquet” (Luke 14:24).
In the past, I’ve sympathized with the invitees. A new field to tend? Oxen to deal with? Newlyweds? Those all sounded like valid reasons to politely excuse themselves from a party. But when we look at what may have been happening in the heart of these characters and consider
what Jesus is trying to communicate about the kingdom through this parable, we see a multitude of people who were so content/distracted/tied-up with their own day-to-day matters that they felt no obligation or desire to go feast with the master. They chose to continue with their material concerns, missing out on an opportunity to connect, commune, and enjoy this sumptuous feast that had been prepared for them.
And so the master sent the servant out to invite people who would respond immediately to the invitation. They were those who understood that neither their bodies nor their circumstances, their status nor their possessions, were going to be able to save them—and heck yes they would come to the feast! These people would have known there was no better option for them than to be there, in the master’s house. The new guests in this parable had a readiness in their souls, whereas the original guests had a sense of lollygagging and self-sufficiency.
Jesus told this parable in response to someone at his shared table saying, “Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:15)! So, what can we take from this story? Who will eat bread in God’s kingdom? It will be the ones who acknowledge their need to be filled—and those who respond eagerly to his invitation to feast.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
Where do you see yourself in this parable? Are you so wrapped up in your day-to-day concerns that they are distracting or delaying you from coming to God and feasting with him? Or are you feeling poor and needy, recognizing that your satisfaction will come from God’s kingdom alone?
Consider spending time in prayer, asking God to point out if there are any areas where you are expecting worldly priorities to fulfill the needs that only God can satisfy in your life.
Further Reading:
Luke 13:22-30
Luke 14:15-24
Matthew 5:1-12
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Thomas Soellner
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