"You are invited!"

You are invited.....have you ever got an invitation to a party or social gathering? They almost always start with the words, 'you are invited.' Well today you are invited to the party. What party? Well, just keep on reading and you'll soon find out. :)

Have you ever got something from your parents or friend and felt like you didn't deserve it? Well, that is what God has done for us. God has invited us to His party of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and freedom. If we all got what we thought that we deserved than we wouldn't be getting from God. God is perfect, and we couldn't be any farther away. But He loves us so much that he has decided to bless anyways.

A good example of this is when Peter denied Jesus. Mark 14: 27-31
"²⁷ On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,
‘God will strike^[g] the Shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’
²⁸ But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”
²⁹ Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will.”
³⁰ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
³¹ “No!” Peter declared emphatically. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the others vowed the same."
Jesus predicted Peter's denial. Even though Peter promised to never desert Him, His flesh had other ideas.
Verses 66-72
"⁶⁶ Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by ⁶⁷ and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.^[m]”
⁶⁸ But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed.^[n]
69 When the servant girl saw him standing there, she began telling the others, “This man is definitely one of them!” ⁷⁰ But Peter denied it again.
A little later some of the other bystanders confronted Peter and said, “You must be one of them, because you are a Galilean.”
⁷¹ Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” ⁷² And immediately the rooster crowed the second time.
Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he broke down and wept."
Peter denied even knowing Jesus. Did Peter deserve Jesus' forgiveness? No, he did not. But God does not always give us what we rightfully deserve. Peter deserved to be left alone in his self pity, to not know the relief of forgiveness. But Jesus knew that he was only human.

One of my favorite Bible stories is the story of the prodigal son. Luke 15: 11-32
"¹¹ To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
¹³ “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. ¹⁴ About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. ¹⁵ He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸ I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
²⁰ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.^[b]’
²² “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. ²³ And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, ²⁶ and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
²⁸ “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, ²⁹ but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. ³⁰ Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
³¹ “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. ³² We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

This is a beautiful story. The man's younger son had run away. He spent all of his money and felt like he didn't even deserve to be called his father's son. In all truth, he didn't. But God doesn't judge on what is fair or what isn't. If this world was fair we would all have lots of money, be perfectly happy with a perfect family. And most importantly Jesus wouldn't have died on that cross. The son realized that even his father's servants ate better than he did. So he purposed to come home and ask to be a servant. But when his father saw him coming down the road he ran towards him. He enveloped him in a huge hug and threw a huge party for him! He loved his son so much that he didn't care what he had done with his money, all that he cared about was that his son who was lost, dead, was alive and back at home where he belonged.

Our father, God, doesn't care how much money we acquire. It doesn't matter to Him how popular we are at school or at work. He cares about us. About His beloved children. God has invited us to the best party in the world, Heaven. But He needs the RSVP. I know for sure that my answer is 'attending.' How about you? What is your answer to the most amazing party that you could over go to?