“Since we have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!”
Throughout this Lenten journey we have been meditating on Jesus as the Good Shepherd but, in the last few days we have found that we are also being reminded that we are lost sheep. In fact, we are sheep that have willingly gone astray. We had a part in this separation from our Shepherd. We rebelled against His loving leadership and declared independance from Him. We didn’t need a shepherd. We were fine without Him…or so we thought. It is hard to think about being God’s enemy. I realize that, “I once was lost but now am found”, but I never thought of myself as hostile toward God. The Scriptures tell us otherwise. Our sinfulness is in direct opposition to the will of God. The bottom line is that we were all enemies of God, “but God demonstates His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners (enemies) Christ died for us”.
Do you see it? We should not move away from this verse in the Psalm until we do. You were the enemy in the room looking at the table prepared for those who believe. You did not choose to be there but, you were still invited. You did not want to sit down and eat but you saw others eating and enjoying it. You were skeptical but then you saw someone that you knew and they asked you to join them…and now Jesus prepares a table for you in the presence of His enemies and yours.
The cross is what makes this possible. The verse above is clear…we were reconciled “by the death of His Son”. All of the barriers that disqualify us from coming have bee removed because of the sacrifice on the cross. Our sins have been forgiven and we who were once enemies are invited to be friends. This is important to remember as we go back to our verse. Now we can see that the presence of our enemies is not only for our benefit but for the benefit of those who are still fighting against the Gospel. God allows them to see you at the table so they might observe in you the blessings of following God.
So, don’t be too quick to judge who should be at the table. The Truth is that God invites all who will come. Who is in your life right now that you can invite to the table?
Thank the Lord today that He went to the cross so you could go to the table. Now, look around and invite others to join you…and don’t be surprised if those who you know as enemies decide to join you.