What Wins? Choosing Jesus in a World Full of Options

Luke 14 scares me, especially the Parable of the Great Banquet in verses 15-23. Jesus is at a table eating with others and a man says, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”  This is true. Having a seat at the king’s table will be beyond imagination. Eternity spent with Jesus is the answer to every heart’s longing. 

 But Jesus provides a “not so fast” moment. The man who utters this comment takes this reality for granted. Not everyone has a saved seat. Jesus provides a parable in response:

 “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready’ (v.16).

 The next verse is what scares me. It’s in the category of tragedy: “But they all alike began to make excuses” (v.17)  The reasons? Well, one buys a field and must go see it. Another buys oxen and must go inspect them. You can see that a piece of land and these oxen took priority over the invitation to the banquet. Important purchases held precedent. The third rejects the invitation because in their words, “I just got married, so I can’t come.’ (v.20). In this case, an important relationship became so pressing that they had to say no. As you can imagine, the master of the banquet is not happy. Since they have rejected him, he rejects them.  Again…tragedy. 

 Lately, I’ve been pondering the essence of true, genuine faith. While Paul says, “By faith you have been saved,” (Ephesians 2:8) James makes it known that “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17) In other words, a real faith springs forth into action. When I put James’ words besides Jesus’ from the parable, I come to this conclusion:

 True faith is a winning faith.

You know your confession of Jesus as Lord is real when Jesus wins over the world. Jesus did not win for the characters in the parable. Land, oxen, and a spouse won. And I’m afraid that Jesus is not winning in the hearts of many who say they are his followers. Career wins over Jesus. Assignments win over Jesus. A boyfriend wins over Jesus. Entertainment wins over Jesus. Family’s approval wins over Jesus. You get the point. The list could go on and on. 

 This parable of Jesus gets to what we love most deeply. It’s easy to follow Jesus when there’s no risk or no cost. But when your pursuits collide or when your schedules conflict and your time is cramped and we must choose one over another, what wins? That’s how you know what you love. 

The world has a lot of options for us to choose from. And yet, none of these options reconcile us to God, forgive our sins, promise eternal life, and provide never-ending joy. For that, the only option is Jesus.

If you’re looking for a Boston church to call him, we’d love for you to visit King’s Hill.