Wednesday, March 30, 2005

An Invitation to Eat

Several years ago my friend Aleah and I went to visit a friend who lived out of town. We took him to dinner and told him it was our treat, so order whatever he wanted.

(Quick aside: whenever someone tells me that they’re treating me to a meal, I tend to order rather conservatively. I don’t deliberately get the cheapest thing on the menu unless it’s what I want to eat, but I also try not to order the most expensive item. There’s a delicate balance going on.)

Apparently our friend took our advisement to order whatever he wanted to heart. He started off by ordering an appetizer. Then a salad. Then an entrée (steak, no less). And then a dessert.

At that point, Aleah and I were giving each other Can you believe this guy? glances and mentally counting the money in our wallets, hoping we’d have enough to avoid washing dishes to pay for the meal. Thankfully our handy check cards bailed us out of scrub duty.

We still joke about our friend’s zeal for a free meal. And even though we were surprised that he went all out in ordering, the truth is that he had every right to order whatever he wanted, because we told him to do so! So it’s pretty silly that we got a little indignant about him taking what was given to him.

I started thinking about how often we refuse to take what God so freely gives us. Perhaps out of fear that He doesn’t really mean what He says when He offers us life, love, riches, grace. Perhaps we think that God’s generosity and resources only extend so far, and we don’t want to push His limits. Or perhaps we just feel plain unworthy of receiving it (guess what? We ARE!).

God doesn’t worry about having enough money to cover whatever our hearts desire. He doesn’t have limits to what He can do and, more importantly, what He WILL do for us. He longs to bless us.

Now, this doesn’t guarantee that whatever I ask for, God will automatically give it to me. That would quickly turn me into a spoiled brat who would never appreciate all He gives and does for me.

But I think that more often than not, God is waiting for me to take hold of the blessings He wants to give me. He longs for us to experience life to the full, not just in Eternity but here on Earth as well. He invites us to share His bounty at His table, and there are no limits to His riches.

2 comments:

Gem said...

Bloghopped over here from Mike Cope's Blog. Awesome thoughts! We are so afraid of seeming ungrateful or selfish that we often hesitate to take the cup that is full, pressed down, and overflowing that He offers us. Thanks for the reminder!

Donna G said...

Yesterday I paused on this scripture and actually stopped and asked God for some things. We act like we are incoveniencing Him, and He told us to do it!! Great thoughts!

Matt 7: 7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.