The King's Table.

Read Luke 14: 15-24

Those of us who have said "yes" to the invitation, must continue to say that "yes" with the quality of our lives.

It's not always the believers who say yes to Jesus' invitation to the banquet. But those who do accept, must ready themselves (as one would if one was invited to the King's table). One would pick the best clothes we have, make sure they were clean, learn table manners fit for the kings table and practice good behavior.

How do we ready ourselves for Jesus' banquet? By the quality of our lives that we lead. And that quality is mentioned again and again in the Bible. Here is a quick recap:

First off is the Fear of the Lord. Possibly the most difficult as well. It's not about being afraid but embracing and respecting His authority by putting Him first. What comes in the way of this is our own pride, selfishness, materialism and love of the world. These are our idols, and when added together, you have the perfect formula for non-fear of God as He becomes a distant dream.

Karina Zolotarev in Just Disciple says this: "God is all-powerful and has authority overall. If one is a child of God, one can rest in the knowledge that He is in control. When we realize and see God as the highest in command over this entire universe, one can know there is no need to fear anything else. But to do this we need to be humble enough to not let pride come in the way, but let God take over".

Next take the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. These qualities should be a daily practice, because it is so easy to fall out. WE SHOULD MAKE IT A PRACTISE TO PRACTISE THESE IN OUR DAY TO DAY AND MINUTE TO MINUTE, LIFE.

Sadly we slip on this up day to day and minute to minute and second to second, The trick is to remember these as a guideline and be conscious of them as a practice. Not easy at all. During a difficult time, how does one stay joyous? How do we practice love for another when that person has hurt us? 

It's because we let that difficulty or that hurt become an idol in our life, dictating our actions. We need to remove those idols and replace them with God. God is bigger than any difficulty. God is bigger than any enmity and hurt. Not easy to do because we need to first kill our inherent pride and let God take control of that difficulty before us or that hurtful situation and patiently let go.

In management, one reads about something called a force field. In anything we do, there are forces pulling and pushing us in different directions. This is as true in our day-to-day life. Self-control, when combined with fear of God and the other fruits of the spirit, help us choose the right path and direction.

Today let us be thankful for being invited to the banquet and pray that we may become worthy to sit at the king's table.