Banquets and Speaking Life

         This evening, I went to an interesting Bible study that focused on Luke 14: 15-24 for a little while, and we got to learn what it means to get a taste of God's banquet. A lot of times, someone would start preparing a banquet or a potluck and invite their friends out in advance, but as soon as the event comes, the invited guests come up with little excuses. I don't know about you, but I think that they either get easily distracted or are trying to avoid the host because of their contentment. At least now I can understand why it would be better to start bringing in the poor and/or broken people; it would be easier for someone who has very little to accept something like attending a meal. I guess I can relate with both crowds in a way or two; I often see myself at times as not being worth for God to put up with me, while at other times, I might feel rather great and not want to bother doing something (I relate a bit more with the poor and broken people, though). But it is the choices that we make that determine whether or not we get to enjoy God's reward in Heaven. We choose whether or not we accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord; he did give us free will, right?

         I find that this passage can also relate to some other aspects of our behaviours toward other people. In particular, I'm thinking more towards the words we say. We often don't realize what kind of power words can have until we see the kind of damage that we cause (I know, I have done it before many times and have also received it from the other end). We can choose to use our words as a way to build people up or tear them down, and I find that if we show love with our words, then we would have peace with the people around us, and they can get to know about God by him working through us. So I thought that this video would be a great fit for all of this; it's the official lyric video to the song, "Speak Life" by TobyMac, and I feel that this is a very relatable song.

         I hope that this inspires you and gives you something to think about. I believe that God will always find a way to get us to learn something. If you'd like some extra information, feel free to take a look at the links available.

-Alex