Guests

…because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  2 Corinthians 4:14-16

I have spent very few Thanksgivings at my house.  The men in my family usually start the week off with a couple days of hunting before we head to our final Thanksgiving destination.  Our most common trip was to Midland where we would spend the holiday stuffing ourselves with some great food at my grandparents’ house, followed by football on TV.

While this was typical for my family, it wasn’t that way every year. There were a few years when we found ourselves at home (after the obligatory deer hunt, of course). I do remember that almost every time we spent Thanksgiving at home we had guests.  These guests were usually people who our society had left out - the widow or widower, the mentally handicapped, and even the socially awkward.

In Luke 14:12-14 Jesus says this, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Having some of society’s outcasts at our dinner table for holidays was very much of a learning experience. It wasn’t always a pleasant or comfortable situation, but it was a definite blessing to be a part of something Christ command’s us to do.

The people we invited to dinner were never able to repay us or reciprocate in any way. But that’s the way God commands us to do it. If we only show love to those who can reciprocate that love, then we are just like the world. But when we show love to “the least of these” then we will see the true and unending blessings of following Christ.

Submitted by Caleb Lain