It's Not A Fad
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president
There are so many fads that come and go in one’s lifetime.
One fad that I remember hearing about was seeing how many people could fit into a telephone booth. Of course, we rarely see phone booths anymore, but you can still go online and see pictures of people trying to fit into a booth.
Another similar fad was stuffing VW Beetles with as many people as possible. You can also see pictures online of those fads. It is pretty amazing how many people were able to fit in a VW. The car, I am sure, was not in the same shape after it was over, but it did make for some pretty interesting pictures.
The Bible tells of a man who wanted to have a great feast.
He invited many guests for the banquet. Many preparations were made for every aspect of the event. When it was all prepared, he sent the servant out to inform the invited guests that all was ready. However, every one of the invited guests suddenly found excuses to not come.
When you read the story in Luke 14 you realize quickly the excuses are quite flimsy. When the servant reported this to the man, the Bible says he was angry but not deterred from having the feast. The order was given in verse 21 to go into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, crippled, the blind, and the lame. The next report came back that all the people from those places had come and “there is still room” (verse 22). The order was then given to go into the country and roads outside the city and bring all they encountered in so that the house may be full.
The kingdom of God is a place that will always have room for more.
There is still room for more. The kingdom of God is also not a fad that we will only stuff with as many people as we can to take a picture. Instead, the kingdom of God is a place where the Master of the great feast is asking us to go wherever we can find someone to invite them into the feast.
Studies have continually shown that the most effective outreach is done by Christians who simply invite their friends to come and learn about Jesus. Let us all be faithful servants of God and go wherever He sends us because there is still room.