I am sure that we all have received dinner invitations. And maybe you have invited others to a meal. This is all commonplace. People do it all the time. Of course, it may be in someone’s home or it may be in a restaurant, banquet hall, church social, or whatever. It could even be in a park or at the beach.
Did you know that God has invited whoever will to come dine with Him? Really. Revelation 3:20 says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.” But that is a one on one invite. I am talking about as many people who choose to accept God’s invitation … a huge number of people. Have you ever been to a big gathering eating together? This one will outdo them all. I don’t know what will be served, but I am sure it will be good. God does all things well.
There is even a song about it. We sing it in church occasionally.
I am looking forward to it. Here is another version of the song:
Jesus usually spoke in parables which are stories to understand his meaning. One parable He shared was about a banquet with several guests invited. When it came time to go to the banquet invited guests started making excuses why they could not go. You can read about it starting in Luke 14:16. Their excuses were unacceptable and angered the one giving the banquet. So he wrote them off and told his servants to go out and invite all that they could find to come and dine. Still there was plenty of room left at the table so the one giving the banquet told his servants to go out and “compel” others to come and dine at the banquet table. That word “COMPEL” is interesting. What does it mean? The dictionary definition is: 1) To force (a person) to do something; drive or constrain: synonym: force. “The court compelled the company to pay full restitution. My conscience compels me to speak out.” Similar: force 2) To necessitate or require, as by force of circumstance; demand. “Growing riots compelled the evacuation of the embassy.” 3) To exert a strong, irresistible force on; sway.
In the bible it means … “The word “compel” suggests urgency and earnest persuasion, not force. It indicates the importance of the invitation to God’s kingdom and the necessity of a response. This aligns with 2 Corinthians 5:20, where believers are described as ambassadors for Christ, imploring others to be reconciled to God. The cultural context of hospitality in the ancient Near East also underscores the importance of accepting such an invitation.”
That is important to understand as God never uses force in His invitation to COME & DINE. He simply uses His servants to spread the Word that ALL are invited. But like in the parable story most people make excuses why they can’t come. Of course, just like in the parable story none of the excuses are acceptable. And just like in the parable story the One Who made the invitation is angry with those who say no to the invitation. He went to a lot of effort to make the banquet possible. He paid the way for all to come. No one could possibly come in their own strength and ability. They not only lack the means, but because of their rejection of the invitation they all will go to their fate … eternal destruction in the lake of fire. There is only one way to escape that fate and that is to accept the invitation. You have nothing to lose except hell and you have a whole lot to gain. And it is all free as Jesus paid the price for you. Yes, He paid the price for your sin … which is death.
He invites you to COME & DINE. Enjoy Heaven’s Buffet.
I HOPE YOU ARE HUNGRY!
By the way, do you know what BUFFET stands for? … Big Ugly Fat Folks Eating Together. Speaking of food in heaven, do you know that no one will be overweight? And did you know there will be no sickness or disease? And did you know everything including desserts will be zero calorie? There will be no concern over any of these things.