Bymonline.org | August 2020
How would you feel if nobody turned up
for your son's wedding? Sad? Angry? Upset?
Your son's wedding would go on and you
would think, “Let them get lost. I care the least
for those who have no respect for my
invitation.” I am yet to hear of a father who
sent his servants to the invitees to call them
again. Why then do you think the Father sent
His servants to call them again after sending
the invitation? He had an army. In His anger
he could have destroyed them. But no, His
love for them wouldn't permit Him to do it. Oh,
how much God loved the Jews! He wanted to
fulfill His eternal plans through them.
But what was the response? They
refused to come. What an insult to the King of
kings! Would He destroy them now? His
passionate love and enduring mercy pulled
Him back from the cruel act. He sent more
servants to tell them the menu and tempted
them to come. He tried to woo them with cords
of love (Hos 11:4). He wanted to “allure” them
(Hos 2:14). The greatest King of all the
universe stooped down to worms to once
again beg them to come. They were given a
precious second chance. But they hardened
their hearts and would not come.
Our God is a loving God who gives us
more than one chance. Let us embrace the
opportunities given by Him. He waits
patiently. He changed His mind when He
wanted to destroy the Israelites in the
wilderness. He planned to destroy Nineveh,
but when they repented He altered His plan
because He is a “gracious and merciful God,
slow to anger and abundant in loving
kindness. One who relents from doing harm”
(Jonah 4:2). But not forever. “Kiss the Son,
lest He be angry, and you perish in the way,
when His wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are those who put their trust in Him”
(Psa 2:12). How they missed a wonderful
chance! When Christ comes the second time,
His longsuffering would have run its course.
Jesus said, “In My Father's house are
many mansions, if it were not so, I would have
told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come back and take you to be with Me that you
also may be where I am” (Jn 14:2,3). Nobody
has seen, nobody has heard what God has
prepared for us. Even if you let your
imagination soar you can't guess what's in
store for us (1 Cor 2:9). We brought a VCD of
the Los Angeles Disney Land for our
granddaughter. When she and her friends
were viewing it, we were overhearing their
conversation, “Will it be as big as Periyar
Park?,” was their discussion. We laughed.
That's all we can think of heaven. Our birdbrain
cannot imagine beyond that. We are in
for a shocking surprise. The devil has
chloroformed us. We must snap out of our
stupor, come out of our coma and awake from
our apathy. How terrible it will be to keep on
seeing what we missed! (Lk 16:23).
The servants are the Old Testament
prophets who were killed by the Jews in their
long and tangled past. Some went to their
fields and some to attend to their business.
How we too do the same! Evangelists blow into
our ears; God's servants warn us; the Bible
screams at us; meetings, TV, Church, Online
sermons, Conventions, books. We talk ill of
preachers instead of praying for them. We
slay them with our tongues. We spread
rumours about them. We hear the invitation
in the church, TV, songs and media. Yet we do
not heed them. Our own works take priority.
Oh, how much we sideline things of eternal
value to do our own business! We have no
time for God because our own business needs
our time. From sun up to sun down we have
something to do. Our office, our work, our
personal matters, our friends, outings,
shoppings, holidays, business meetings,
mobile! Our crammed schedules outweigh
our time with God. For us “our things” are
more important than the marriage supper of
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