Nuggets 56: Different Dinner

  • B. Shelburne
  • Feb 10, 2007
  • Series: Nuggets

It was evening at Namikango Mission.  In our family Bible study we came to Jesus' words,

"When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or 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."

"We don't do that, do we?"  Our younger son David always asked the hard questions.   The family agreed that we had not, but that we should.  Since we were living among poor African villagers, there was no lack of opportunity.  Our minds wandered over the Malawian congregation that met nearby.  All of them were hugely poorer than we, but we decided to invite several handicapped and extremely needy people, the poorest of the poor.

We prepared a meal common to both our cultures--rice with meat and vegetable toppings.  It could be eaten with a fork or with the fingers Malawian style.  The people began arriving.  One was lame and crawled on hands and knees into our house.  At first our guests were ill at ease, never having been invited to dine in a rich white man's house.  But as the meal went on, they began to enjoy the fellowship and seemed delighted that we had cared enough about them to do this.  This became a truly good experience.

Jesus' emphasis was on helping those who cannot repay you.  This is what Jesus did.  Do you love and admire Jesus?  Do things like this and you will be like him.

Luke 14:12-14;  Leviticus 19:14;  23:22;  25:35;  Deuteronomy 15:11;  27:18;  1 Samuel 2:8;  Proverbs 14:31;  19:17;  21:13;  22:9;  28:27;  31:20;  Matthew 11:5;  15:30;  Luke 4:18;  12:33;  2 Corinthians 9:9;  James 2:2-9

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Copyright 2006 by G.B. Shelburne, III.  May be freely reproduced or forwarded for non-commercial purposes provided content is unchanged and this copyright notice is included.  These shepherding messages are sent to members and friends of New Beginnings Church (www.nbchurch.com), to students and alumni of South Houston Bible Institute (www.shbi.org), and to other interested persons.

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