One of the best parts of being a pastor and teacher is that studying the Scripture isn't negotiable. There's an extra motivation for me to be in the Word. One of my favorite things I get to do these days is lead a bunch of leaders into the studying and teaching of the gospel of Luke. Every week I'm preparing lessons to be taught at our church, and we aren't skipping any verses. Systematically going through Scripture has so many benefits, and I love what God does through the process. Last week, we taught out of Luke 14, and one portion of it has been continually on my mind. Here it is:
He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
(Luke 14:12-14)
Of course we should throw dinner parties for our families and friends! Of course we should reciprocate, returning grace for grace! However, Jesus is always going after the heart, and in the passage above, He really challenges us to examine our motives for who we reach out to. If we are constantly reaching out to others with our own ends in mind, then we really are nothing more than users of people. I'm convicted to reach out to relatives and neighbors because of love, not out of expectation of repayment. Even more in line with the reverse economy of God alluded to in the above passage, I'm convicted to reach out to those whom I know couldn't repay me anything. Those are the people I want at the table. Those are the people who probably often eat alone.
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