Verses: Luke 14 : 7 - 14
My thoughts about the verses:
As a manager of a rather large company I attended an all-day event on etiquette. Learning the finer details of what each of those little forks and spoons meant. What to do with your napkin and purse. What different clothes were required for occasions. Needless to say the etiquette of being just right in an event is tortuous. At the end of the session I can still remember leaving and saying to myself I am not holding a big banquet that makes me wash that many dishes for nobody.
Yet, there is a lot of reason and rhyme to the game of etiquette that even goes back to the day of Jesus. Jesus is referring to etiquette that still applies today. The person with the highest honors or most prestige sits at the head of the table. Others do not sit at the table until that person sits in their seat.
Jesus was teaching the difference between being humble and being humiliated. See if you come to the dinner and assume you are the most important and sit at the head. You may learn the hard way that someone else that will be joining the group actually holds that spot in the eyes of the host. They may then ask you to move to a lower position in the table which would make you very humiliated. Because you assumed that you were more important than others that were coming to the gathering.
What Jesus teaches us is to come to the table and show humbleness. Instead of going to the head of the table we should choose a seat at the end. We need to assume that there will be more honored guest coming to the event. There will be times that we find that we are the honored guest and need to move. Yet, there are many times we find we are just where we are supposed to be. Being humble is the biggest thing we can be in this world.
Christians need to understand that God considers us all equal. We should not think we are better than anyone else. We are to humble ourselves and remember that we did not deserve the forgiveness that comes from the blood of Jesus. That Jesus died for us all because we all have sinned. When we understand this we are able to reach out to all individuals and help them understand the gift that we have received. Because when we do this we show humbleness that helps individuals that haven't asked God in their hearts see what happens when God forgives us from our sins. Those that are humble in the eyes of others will be role models that lead others to God.
Yet, what happens when we think that we are better than others. Those certain groups cannot become Christians. We forget that we are not to judge others. When Christians believe that they are more deserving of the forgiveness of God they are actually humiliating themselves. They are putting their needs before the needs of others. We need to remember at all times that we are sinners that have been forgiven of our sins. Christians that think that others are not deserving of the love of God are pushing away those that need to find the love of God.
Prayer:
Dear God thank you for loving us. Jesus we thank you for dying to take away our sins when we did not deserve us. Help us be humble. Help us show love to all people. Dear Jesus helps us be the people that help others find the love that you have for them. Help us put the needs of others first so that we can be the witness that leads others to understand the gift that you have given to us freely. In the name of the one that loves us all equally we pray. Amen
My thoughts about the verses:
As a manager of a rather large company I attended an all-day event on etiquette. Learning the finer details of what each of those little forks and spoons meant. What to do with your napkin and purse. What different clothes were required for occasions. Needless to say the etiquette of being just right in an event is tortuous. At the end of the session I can still remember leaving and saying to myself I am not holding a big banquet that makes me wash that many dishes for nobody.
Yet, there is a lot of reason and rhyme to the game of etiquette that even goes back to the day of Jesus. Jesus is referring to etiquette that still applies today. The person with the highest honors or most prestige sits at the head of the table. Others do not sit at the table until that person sits in their seat.
Jesus was teaching the difference between being humble and being humiliated. See if you come to the dinner and assume you are the most important and sit at the head. You may learn the hard way that someone else that will be joining the group actually holds that spot in the eyes of the host. They may then ask you to move to a lower position in the table which would make you very humiliated. Because you assumed that you were more important than others that were coming to the gathering.
What Jesus teaches us is to come to the table and show humbleness. Instead of going to the head of the table we should choose a seat at the end. We need to assume that there will be more honored guest coming to the event. There will be times that we find that we are the honored guest and need to move. Yet, there are many times we find we are just where we are supposed to be. Being humble is the biggest thing we can be in this world.
Christians need to understand that God considers us all equal. We should not think we are better than anyone else. We are to humble ourselves and remember that we did not deserve the forgiveness that comes from the blood of Jesus. That Jesus died for us all because we all have sinned. When we understand this we are able to reach out to all individuals and help them understand the gift that we have received. Because when we do this we show humbleness that helps individuals that haven't asked God in their hearts see what happens when God forgives us from our sins. Those that are humble in the eyes of others will be role models that lead others to God.
Yet, what happens when we think that we are better than others. Those certain groups cannot become Christians. We forget that we are not to judge others. When Christians believe that they are more deserving of the forgiveness of God they are actually humiliating themselves. They are putting their needs before the needs of others. We need to remember at all times that we are sinners that have been forgiven of our sins. Christians that think that others are not deserving of the love of God are pushing away those that need to find the love of God.
Prayer:
Dear God thank you for loving us. Jesus we thank you for dying to take away our sins when we did not deserve us. Help us be humble. Help us show love to all people. Dear Jesus helps us be the people that help others find the love that you have for them. Help us put the needs of others first so that we can be the witness that leads others to understand the gift that you have given to us freely. In the name of the one that loves us all equally we pray. Amen
Questions:
Do you judge others? Are you putting the needs of others first? Are you being humble? What do you need to do today so that others can see the love of God?
Do you judge others? Are you putting the needs of others first? Are you being humble? What do you need to do today so that others can see the love of God?
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