Most everyone I know likes to eat.  You seldom hear of anyone turning down an invitation to a nice meal, do you?  Well, today you are cordially being invited to “come and dine” at a really nice place, and you don’t have to pay the bill, and you don’t have to leave a tip, and you don’t have to help with the dishes.  The table is most richly furnished and everything you could need is is there.  All we need is YOU!
Ok, you say, what’s the catch?  Glad you asked.  After all, there’s no such thing as a “free lunch”, right?  That’s right.  Someone else footed the bill for this invitation, and it sure wasn’t you.  Nevertheless, the offer is valid and is extended to “whosoever will” come.  That means if you’re short, tall, pretty, ugly, not too smart, rich, poor, lame or lazy, you are invited.  Everything is now ready, come grab a seat and dig in!

Exactly who is extending such a generous invitation?  That would be the Lord Jesus Christ. It is written in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

You see, before you can respond to His offer, you must take the time to hear Him out, who He is and what He is about.  Far unlike the majority of people, He is not out to “get something from you”, but rather, “to get something TO you”.  He also said in John 10:7-10, “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Ok, let’s say you’ve decided to “check it out” and peek into His house, after all, the door is wide open to all who wish to come in. Here you see all varieties of people, of every color, short, tall, fat, skinny, sick and well, seeing and blind, hearing and deaf, walking, lame, some upright, some stooped, but yet they ALL have something in common: they heard the invitation and came.  The LORD comes and bids them each find a seat and sit at the table.

The table is beautifully set, silverware is there, glasses are filled, plates are heaped with all kinds of wonderful food.  The LORD blesses the meal and tells them to dig in and enjoy.  Now remember, there are all kinds of people there.  Some heartily dive in, but some are hesitant.  Maybe YOU are that hesitant one.  Why?  Well, maybe you’re thinking, “Why was I invited here? I’m not worthy to be here, look at the majesty of this place!”  Another might be thinking, “This is too good to be true, there’s gotta be a catch.”  Another thinks, “I can’t afford this, I need to get up and leave now.”

But the LORD knows what you’re thinking and says to each, “I know your thoughts:  You’re here because I invited you, there is no cost for you to be here, I paid the bill already, I want you to share in my joy, and everyplace in My Kingdom is full of majesty and glory, we have no trailer parks here or ghettos, and yes, you can walk on the grass, or the streets of gold.  My table is fully furnished, and if you don’t see what you want, just ask, I will create it for you.  What’s the catch?  YOU are the catch.  I love you so much that I gave my life on a horrible cross so I could have YOU with me forever.  I caught the most wonderful thing in all my creation…YOU!  I’m so happy to have you here with me, and I will spend forever lavishing my love on you.”

About now, people are starting to pick up their silverware and starting to eat.  The blind man suddenly shouts, “I CAN SEE!”, the deaf man says “I CAN HEAR!”, the bent over old woman straightens up and raises her arms and starts praising God with a loud voice.  Awesome worship breaks out, and wow, we have a real celebration starting!  And this is just the beginning, and this celebration will never stop.
What about those who never heeded the invitation?  Sadly, they missed it all.  Now that isn’t what God wants, after all, He opened the door for ALL, but we all know, He also gave each of us a free will, so some will come, and some won’t.  Actually, the Bible tells us something very sobering in Luke 13:23-27:

Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.”

You see, that door is wide open for you to enter in RIGHT NOW!  But the time is coming, the door will be shut, in other words, the opportunity to enter His Kingdom will be ended.  For you personally, let’s say you MEAN to enter in SOMEDAY, but for now, you’re just having too much fun doing whatever it is you are doing right now, but for some reason, your heart stops beating, and in one second you have entered eternity without Jesus.  There IS no second chance for you, your time, your opportunity to enter in is OVER, and there is no going back and getting it right.  You just lost out forever because you just wouldn’t heed the invitation.

Is that really what you want?  I didn’t think so.  And neither does God.  That’s why He is tenderly calling you right now. Don’t blow your opportunity to have your place at God’s table. Seating is limited, COME!  NOW!  There may never be another chance.
They say opportunity knocks.  Well the devil doesn’t knock, he will just kick your door down and come in with all his baggage, sickness, poverty, anguish, depression, worry, and woe.  Look around the room and tell me what you see in your life right now: do you see the glory of the LORD all around: peace, joy, and blessings,  or are you living in sin, or sickness, or lack and depression and worry?  Well, opportunity is knocking at your door right now.  But if you don’t answer, opportunity will move on looking for someone else to bless.  What do you say?  If you’re smart, you’ll say, LORD, HERE I AM, I WANT TO BE YOURS!
Don’t be the fool that put that invitation off, only to reconsider and want in after the door is closed, where there is crying and gnashing of teeth for anguish.  The door is open, your seat is waiting at the table, COME AND DINE!