Have you ever felt totally out of place at a fancy restaurant or at a ritzy dinner banquet? You feel like everyone is looking at you with an expression on their face that says, “Who invited you to this event? You don’t belong here. You are not good enough”. You feel like a lost sheep – it’s a baaaaaad feeling.

Sometimes we feel like that in the presence of God; however, the great thing with God is that the only ones who He allows into His lush and lavished banquet of salvation are those who acknowledge they don’t deserve to be present. God is so kind and good to us – His heart melts when we express humility and contrite hearts. The banquet begins when we accept His mercy and grace in Christ, and one day we will be in the heavenly banquet – that banquet that will never end.

Read Luke 14:12-24. Who do you most identify with in the parable? Then listen to Carried to the Table by Leeland. It is a precious song with a powerful message.

Luke 14:12-24

Now He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “Whenever you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you to a meal in return, and that will be your repayment. But whenever you give a banquet, invite people who are poor, who have disabilities, who are limping, and people who are blind; and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Now when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is ready now.’ And yet they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I purchased a field and I need to go out to look at it; please consider me excused.’ And another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ And another one said, ‘I took a woman as my wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here those who are poor, those with disabilities, those who are blind, and those who are limping.’ And later the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and the hedges and press upon them to come in, so that my house will be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my dinner.’”