“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.’”
Luke 14:23 (NASB)
In the Parable of the Dinner, Jesus teaches about a master who commands his servants to go out and invite people to come and dine with him. As the servants bid the guests to come “they all alike began to make excuses” (Lk. 14:18) and refused the master’s invitation. (Jesus was particularly speaking of the Gospel call which was refused by the Jews and therefore extended to all people.) This is true in our evangelism. You can be sure that if you share your faith regularly that you will hear all manner of excuses for not coming to Christ. Some may tell you that they are too busy with the cares of life, some may tell you that they will believe when they are older, some may tell you that they are not ready and so on. Always remember that their response is not our responsibility. The master commands us simply to “Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in”. Let us be faithful to invite all men to the master’s table and trust that He will make sure that His house will be filled.
Questions for application…
What is the invitation that we are extending?
What is the limit of our responsibility in sharing the invitation?
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