06.07.2023 Lessons from a Spontaneous Banquet: Invitation

Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

The disciples, remembering Jesus’ desire to be alone, give Him the opportunity to dismiss the crowd. Jesus, ever living out His mission to seek and serve God’s people, instead tells the disciples to feed the people. This is a ridiculous request. The disciples couldn’t possibly have the resources to feed the crowd. So why does Jesus ask them to try? If you survey the Bible you will discover that God regularly calls His followers to seemingly impossible tasks: defy Pharaoh; conquer Jericho; build a church in Jerusalem; take the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth. When we think that God is calling us to do something like this we misunderstand. God is not calling us to do something for Him, He is telling us what He is doing and inviting us to join Him. Jesus never expected the disciples to feed the people. He was inviting them to join Him as He fed the people. He didn’t even need the five loaves and two fish, they were simply a vehicle through which the disciples could participate. What is God inviting you into that you have been resisting because you thought He wanted you to do it for Him?

Lord God, help me to understand when You are inviting me to join You and grant me to courage to come along in whatever way you invite me. Amen.

Every day God invites us on the same kind of adventure. It's not a trip where He sends us a rigid itinerary, He simply invites us. God asks what it is He's made us to love, what it is that captures our attention, what feeds that deep indescribable need of our souls to experience the richness of the world He made. And then, leaning over us, He whispers, "Let's go do that together.” ― Bob Goff

If you have the opportunity to do amazing things in your life, I strongly encourage you to invite someone to join you. — Simon Sinek