Consider Me Excused?

~~~ Philippians 2:5-11 ~~~ Psalm 22 ~~~ Luke 14: 15-24 ~~~

 

 

"...though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself..."

 

What does it mean to 'empty oneself'?

I am sure we could have a lively discussion around those two words.

Just the word empty by itself has vast implications.

We use the word empty in so many contexts.

We empty the trash, the dishwasher, the bathtub etc.

We empty things in the kitchen, the bathroom, the garage...

we even empty bladder and intestines.

But Jesus in order to become human had to empty himself of his

'Godness' perhaps even his Divinity.

He had to become one of us.

 

Would you be willing to become an ant to save all of the ants in the world?

I doubt you would.

That may be an outlandish example,

but humans are certainly no comparison to being God.

 

Jesus emptied himself, while retaining the qualities of

who he actually was; God the Son.

 

He knew why the Father sent him to be among us.

He knew he was sent to do the will of the Father.

Doing the will of the Father required his giving us parables in hopes

we would grasp the essence of the message.

The banquet story is one he chose to implement.

 

Is your social calendar so full of engagements that you have

no time left for God?

 

Luke writes today about the many excuses we can find

to keep ourselves from the presence of God.

Perhaps it is more comfortable to busy ourselves with other things.

Perhaps it is easier to give our attention to those things

which appear to be more pressing.

 

Taking care of property, and your animals seems to be valid concerns.

But perhaps the most worthy of your attention would be your spouse.

Each person invited had the same request...

'consider me excused'

 

In all my years of teaching I certainly received many excuses

for why a student should miss class or be given extra time.

And also excuses for why an assignment was not completed by the due date.

 

Some parents were quick to provide an excuse,

but some allowed their child to suffer the consequences

for their lack of action.

 

I think Jesus is making it pretty clear how he feels about excuses...

about how he will react when you refuse his invitation.

 

 

God is not looking to grant you excuses.

While he is certainly merciful, kind, caring, and compassionate

 he is serious when it comes to your salvation.

He is serious about the path you must take to get to eternal life.

 

We would be horrified if God responded to our prayers with excuses...

 

Everyone is invited to the banquet of the Lord.

There will always be room for one more person.

I pray my actions will never imply for God...

to consider myself excused.

 

Empty yourself of those things which in the end do not

positively contribute to your relationship with God.

 

Remember,

God will never consider you excused from his desire to love you.