Watch Your Response

“Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!” Luke 14:15

Jesus is calling you! While growing up when someone comes to you and says your father is calling you, an emotion goes through your heart. A different emotion registers for each parent depending on your family. And for some the emotion crosses from the heart, runs down the spine and the knees begin to shake. And the only question on your mind at such a time is, ‘what have I done this time’? Earlier, when you read the statement – Jesus is calling you, what did you feel? When Adam and Eve heard God calling them, they went to hide. So what is that emotion that went through your heart? For some, it’s a question – what have I done? Their image of Jesus is a taskmaster. For some, they saw that and they got excited. For others, they saw that and they thought in their hearts calling me for what? Whichever category you fall into, it’s my prayer that you will be aligned in this season.

Please read Luke 14:7-14. After listening to the story Jesus told in Luke 14:7-14, a man imagining how will it be to be invited to a banquet with God said, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!” The word “blessing” in the original means favored, to be envied, blessed. How blessed, favoured, to be envied is such a person that is invited to dine with God. And Jesus answers and says let me tell you a story. Sometimes, when you ask Jesus a question, He answers you with a story. Please read Luke 14:15-24. So, the man’s question was, how favored is this person that will be invited to a banquet with God? And Jesus was saying invariably with this story that all you need to be favored and blessed in the Kingdom of God is directly dependent on your response to the call. Many times, like that man, we think how blessed it will be to sit and dine with God! And Jesus is saying, you will be blessed to sit with God if you respond properly.

In summary or shall I say to put this very plainly, how far you go with God is dependent on your availability to the call. How far you go with God is dependent on how you respond when Jesus calls you. So, if you find someone that is more anointed than you are, it is not because they are finer than you are, it is largely because they are more available to God than you are. That is how the Kingdom works. The favor you get is dependent on your ‘yielded-ness’ to the call. Which means you and I need to be yielded to Jesus’ call and we shall be in Jesus Name. So when Jesus calls, we must be the first to answer.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, please teach me to be totally yielded to Jesus. Help me to respond appropriately when the Master calls me, in Jesus Name.