What Is Your Excuse?
Luke 14:16-18 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
There is a great lesson found here in the parable Jesus is telling. He is speaking of the great supper and could be broken down this way; the Master here is God, the servant is Christ, and they that were bidden are the jews. However, there is a valuable illustration that applies to this day and hour in which we live. You see, as the servant begins to invite the guests they all begin to make excuses as to why they can not attend.
So many Christians today are living the same way. God has told us in his Word things that we are supposed to do that God has commanded us to do. For example, Hebrews 10:25 says “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” We as Christians as members of a local, visible New Testament church are to make it our duty and priority to be assembled when the church doors are open, especially as times are getting worse and Jesus’ return is drawing closer. Now, I am not referring to health issues, or if your job requires you to come in, or you’re out of town, etc. What I am referring to is willfully missing church just because we have something “better”, or just because “once or twice a week is enough for me”. Friend, may I remind you that your success in life does not put you above others nor is there a set amount of hours, that upon completion you are no longer required to be in all the services. When we adopt the ideology of “I pray thee have me excused” God is not pleased and our fellow brothers and sisters (the church) suffers.
There is another thought here as well, God has called us to do something specifically for him with our lives. That is to say there is an area, a field, a ministry to which God has suited you for and has enabled you to serve in that area, and has called you to serve him in that regard. Sadly, in many churches we hear and see the same thing from folks again and again, “I pray thee have me excused.” Can I kindly let you know that, No, you and I are not excused from service to the one who saved us, the one who died for our sins, the one who bought us with a price, No sir, no ma’am WE ARE NOT EXCUSED!
Maybe today God is dealing with you and calling you to be saved (born again). Friend, I urge you today not to say or have the mentality of “I pray thee have me excused. The truth is God’s Word tells us in Genesis 6:3a “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for he is also flesh:” There is coming a day in all three of the examples given in this article where God will stop convicting you about being faithful, He will stop drawing you and tugging at your heart to give up the world and step out by faith to serve him. For it is not faith if you will not step out on your own, trusting him and knowing what He has instore for you is far better than what the world has to offer. Lastly, the Holy Spirit of God will not always convict you and draw you to salvation. He will not force you into anything, He will simply show you the way through the teaching and preaching of his Word, but it is up to you and I to step out by faith and obedience, trusting Him. For many, they have said in their hearts one too many times “I pray thee have me excused” and they missed out on God’s many eternal blessings, they’ve missed out on eternal life for the material. They’ve chosen a life filled with their wants and desires which always come up empty, rather than being led by God, trusting him completely.
These that were bidden missed out, they did not accept the invitation given to them and they were not given another opportunity in this parable. Friend, you and I are not promised tomorrow, but we will stand in judgment one day, but on that day we can no longer say, “I pray thee have me excused” . Romans 14:12 “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” No more excuses.