Invited

Last night I witnessed a miracle.  A real, live, beautiful miracle.

Last night I watched a once forsaken be celebrated.

I witnessed a girl, who was once a commodity (bought, sold, traded), childhood stolen…standing and receiving a cake blazing with candles and gifts and hugs and kisses.

I saw a dear-one, once alone, in the presence of a table full.

And at that table were a mixture of hands, old and young, black and white, rich and poor and those in the middle, a mixture of lives some broken, some healed.  At that table were foster babies and adopted ones… the Fatherless and the once orphan, smiling and laughing.  But at that table none of that mattered, not color, not age, not past, nor sins… none of it mattered.

At the table were women, who have seen the depths of despair, now laughing and calling themselves blessed.  Women who once simply survived, now thriving… savoring, loving every moment.  Women who were once on the edge of destruction now sharing a meal as conquerors… victors.

At that table was a family who has accepted, arms wide, a daughter of His who was in need.   They brought in a lack and she is now a full.  They brought in a stone, now flesh.  With no hesitation, flawlessly, these heroes stood in the gap and parented an almost-adult in a way that packed so much love in that it filled a lifetime that was missing.  Without thought of race, comfort or status quo, these two decided that their family would usher in the heart of God in her life… and here she was, beaming, barely recognizable from the broken past.

The air was heavy with hope.  The air was heavy with His promises.

And God’s heart was swelling.  I could imagine that He was leaned in as close as He could, watching this display of His glory.  I could imagine that His Daddy heart was racing as He watched ALL of His children, all of us who He has rescued in more ways than one, loving each other with abandon.

And I could imagine that the devil was trembling, shrinking back in a corner, as he discovered that he had lost this battle.  The lives at this table were no longer his, their futures robbed from him and given to the Most High.  He has lost the ground he once danced on, the graves he once dug.

Last night I watched Heaven kiss earth.  Last night I watched His kingdom come.  It was full and breathtaking.

There is no amount of brokenness, no level of destruction that can not be healed, that can not be rebuilt.  No childhood, no past, no matter how many moments bring shame, can disqualify the hands of God reaching for you, and finding you.

At the Father’s table all are welcome.  Whether you walk confidently to your chair or drag yourself there, you have a seat at His celebration.  You belong and YOU are celebrated, cherished and adored by the only One who matters.  He makes you worthy to be in the room, He makes you family, gives you the right to pull up a chair.

We are present at the King’s table, and He is asking us to fill our own tables with those who feel uninvited… those who have been left out, cast out, rejected and not celebrated… and to make them the center of our adoration… the same way that we are His.

“The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God’s people…”
Quickly, get out into the city streets and alleys. Collect all who look like they need a square meal, all the misfits and homeless and wretched you can lay your hands on, and bring them here.’

“The servant reported back, ‘Master, I did what you commanded—and there’s still room.’

“The master said, ‘Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full! Let me tell you, not one of those originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner party.”

Luke 14:12-24