“When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, ‘Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.'”
Luke 14:15
Imagine the scene in Luke 14:1-24. Jesus was invited to dinner at a Pharisee’s home in the rich suburbs of Jerusalem. He noticed that the wealthy people were grabbing the best seats. At that point, Jesus launched into a story about the sorts of dinner parties people ought to give — feasts for the forgotten, the homeless, and the poor. The Lord added that although these people would not be able to repay them, the hosts would, nevertheless, be repaid at the resurrection (Luke 14:14).
You can imagine what happened next. Jesus probably sat down, put His napkin on His lap, and picked up an hors d’oeuvre. Silence hung over the table as the wealthy people shot nervous glances at each other.
The party spirit was dampened, so one dinner guest cleared his throat and spoke up: “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:15). What an odd thing to say! It’s as if he said: “Jesus, I can’t say that I follow your strange ideas about dining with cripples, but I do agree with what You say about heaven — it’s so comforting to know that everything will turn out perfectly in the end.”
In other words, the man was trying his best to change the spiritual subject. But just as the Lord did not allow those dinner guests to switch the subject (read Luke 14:15-24), we will find it just as difficult to divert God’s attention from those issues that need to be addressed in our lives.
Almighty God, I know I’ve often tried to change the spiritual subject when I’ve sensed Your conviction in my heart. When You’ve pricked my conscience, I’ve often tried to divert Your attention to other areas of my life. May I listen to You today and not try to change the subject when Your Word speaks loud and clear.
