God wants everyone to come to the Banquet for His Son. Everyone. Yet, not all will submit to His voice. Unity before division comes into play.
The best example I can think of is found in Luke chapter 14:15-24, often termed, “From the highway to the hedges,” or “the parable of the Great Banquet.” (Please pause and read Luke 14:7-24.)
This parable is told by Jesus in response to how people will be blessed at God’s Banquet. One guest says, “How fortunate the one who gets to eat dinner in God’s kingdom!” (Luke 14:15 MSG). Jesus follows up, “Yes. For there was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many. When it was time for dinner, he sent out his servant to the invited guests, saying, ‘Come on in; the food’s on the table” (Luke 14:16-17 MSG).
But sadly, one after another, they give excuses as to why they cannot come: I have a property to look after; I just bought oxen; I just got married, etc. Then, the servant that was sent returns to his master with the news. The man was outraged and was sent back quickly to the “city streets and alleys” to get anyone he could and bring them back, the homeless, the misfits, and anyone who needed a meal. The servant returned with as many as possible, but there was still room. This time, the master commands him to go to the “country roads” and drag as many as possible into the banquet hall. He wants his house full!
Unity Before Division
So, how is this Unity before division? The master desired those invited to be in Unity with him. All they had to do was enter the banquet, where everything was done for them. They did not honor what the master had prepared for them. Who wants to eat at a banquet alone?
The master had to go to those in the cities, the alleys, and eventually to the country roads to find people who would leave what they had (no matter how much or how little) and leave behind their personal idols to be in Unity with him. He did not create the division, but the division is a direct result of their choice.
May we be in Unity with the Master as He calls all to the Great Banquet. Shalom.
Blessings and honor,
Angela Errett
Feature Image: Bigstock.com | Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
