November 28, 2022

I was thinking back many years ago when my youngest wasn’t invited to birthday parties and thought back even further when I was younger and wasn’t invited much either.

I also remember when I was in gym and we had teams and being one of the last ones picked, if not the last. Everyone who was the best in whatever we were going to play was picked. It was painful to wait just knowing you weren’t going to be picked. I am sure many of us had anxiety start then without even realizing it.

This happens with auditions for special choirs or roles in the theatre or even getting employed. I have gone through this with each of my children for different things throughout their lives. I reminded them if they are not chosen or invited to join in things, it is because God may be protecting them from something and/or He has something much better for them. Overall my children have responded very well when things didn’t go as they had hoped or expected. Sometimes, and that is okay.

I was listening to Alan Jackson on Faith Radio just after I had been pondering this and he was talking about this very subject about not being invited to participate in things that you may have not even expected to be left out, ignored, or not wanted. He then said, “What invitation are you worried about being left off of that is more important than God’s invitation?!”

That perspective was exactly what I needed to hear! YES! YES! There is NO invitation more important than being invited into God’s forever family! We may feel that we’ve lost something for not being invited to things we would’ve expected to be but in fact the truth is “Whatever appears to be a loss, God will use as gain!” I just LOVE how God works!

Have you accepted the BEST invitation of all? If not, why not? When you get a Christmas or Birthday gift, do you not open it to experience the joy it will bring or do you put it up on a shelf in the back of your closet never to be seen again? Of course we open gifts. Why not open the best gift ever this season?! We never know when our last day will be on this earth, as our days are numbered, so don’t wait or it could be too late.

God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world, so that He could be the perfect lamb to die for ALL of us. Heaven cannot have sin so Jesus’ blood paid all of the debt for our sin as we could never pay it back. He pursues us but He also will not make us take the invitation. We need to accept the invitation….or not.

The other day, I was talking to a friend about what heaven would be like and she sent me a banqueting table picture. Yes, it will be like celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners every single day, together with our Savior, and all those who have accepted the invitation as well!

And here’s another thing to think on. Picture a long rope going on and on with no end and then there is a just a couple inches colored that represents your time on earth and rest of the rope represents eternity. That is how long we will spend with our Creator, our Savior!

We all have a choice. To not choose is a choice of not accepting the invitation. We all will live forever; it’s our choice whether to live eternity with our Lord or our enemy. I have told people before to think of your worst day ever x100, That is how hell will be. It will be so miserable but death won’t be able to happen. It is living wide awake in physical and mental pain forever.

Please accept the free gift of salvation God is holding out to you.

Blessings,
Jennifer