Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 55:6-7
But He (Jesus) said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner and he invited many, and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ … And the slave came back and reported this to the 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 the poor and crippled and blind and lame….”
Luke 14:16-21
I think Jesus wants us to not overlook anyone when we go out to preach the Gospel.
About fourteen years ago I finally finished my undergraduate degree and what surprised me when I was taking classes was the vast spiritual wasteland college campuses have become. The majority of the students and the faculty freely admitted that they did not practice any religion and were unsure that there was a God. Many were devoid of any shred of mercy toward others and believed that people got what they deserved. These are the people who thought they would become the leaders in our society and some of them no doubt will be.
Where does this leave the ministry of the Church? It leaves the Church the work of taking the Gospel to the campus and at the same time ministering to those in need and perhaps, marrying the two by creating opportunities for students to participate in the ministry by helping provide meals to the poor, tutoring children, and doing other service projects which involve contact with people in need. Yes, it is wonderful to clean up a river or a park or to build a bear habitat, but those activities often do not include contact with people who are in need. It is our contact with people which helps us understand mercy and grace and all those things which are available only through Jesus.
So, when we throw a party or plan a special event at Church we should take the lead and invite those who don’t come to our Church or who look like they might not fit into our group and roll out the welcome wagon and the Good News of the Gospel.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all….
1 Timothy 2:5-6
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix all your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be Holy, for I am Holy.”
1 Peter 1:14-1
People sometimes say they don’t want to be Christians because they will have to give up too much – meaning give up their sinful lifestyles which they know are sinful. What they don’t realize is that there is so much to gain from becoming a Christian, that the old lifestyle is not missed. Once we make up our minds to change, the rest comes easy.
It is easier to be holy than to be sinful.
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the City of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn Son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the City of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace among men, with whom He is pleased.”
When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about the Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
Luke 2:1-20
Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the City of Nazareth, to Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem… in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in cloths, and laid Him in a manager, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:4-7
