Whose Reality?

Text: Luke 14: 15-24

The benefits of the kingdom of God seem so attractive that it is difficult to comprehend how or why anyone could possibly choose against it. Ask yourself if you would rather live in a reality of pure justice, benevolent rulership, willing obedience to a law known to be in our best interest, or in one which is characterized by corruption, self-seeking, inequities of all kinds and no prospect of things ever changing for the better. And oh, by the way, the former is eternal, just awaiting its full inauguration. In the meantime we get to live by its precepts and under the loving guidance of its monarch.

Simple choice, right? Apparently not. It seems that in that interim period we find ourselves so entwined in the things of that second kingdom that we be unable to let go at the critical moment. For Jesus' immediate audience fields, equipment, purchases, and relationships were singled out as temporary obstructions to acceptance of the king's gracious offer. Just how different are we from that audience? Don't we often have a hard time putting aside anything and everything else because the Lord has issued us a summons to be with Him, to attend to the things of His kingdom? The two kingdoms mentioned above do not necessarily contain different interests, activities, and relationships; but they are worlds apart when it comes to the ordering of those very things.

The lesson from today's passage is that we are always to be on guard to preserve the priority of the kingdom of God. When the Lord calls, can we put all else aside? If we are unable to do so here and now, we may find that we have indeed become so caught up in the reality created by these things that we lose out on that which is "really real," that which will bless our souls forever. During this season, let us repent of all the things we have allowed to threaten our sharing in God's kingdom.