The Benevolence that is Blessed

He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:12-14).

Jesus chose his words carefully here. He did not intend for His disciples to never have a meal with friends, family, or neighbors. The word Jesus used for “dinner” is ariston in the Greek and it means the best meal. The word Jesus used for “banquet” is deipnon in the Greek and it means the chief meal or feast. Jesus was teaching that when His disciples plan a feast or celebration to honor a special person or to mark a special occasion or achievement, they should invite those who cannot pay their own way or offer any kind of recompense. He wanted His disciples to have sweet, wonderful dinners and banquets together that would reflect the beauty and diversity of the great wedding banquet we anticipate in eternity… “And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of God.’” (Revelation 19:9). Whenever true disciples gather together, our chief, honored guest is Jesus Christ Himself… “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20). Inviting the neediest people we know to celebrate Christ with us is a revelation of the benevolence that is blessed.

Christ inviting benevolence begins with inherited relationships. Jesus wants us to be sensitive to the needs in the lives of everyone we encounter, beginning with the relationships He has provided for us. Family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others that we see and interact with on a regular basis present wonderful opportunities for us to notice changes in attitude and behavior that may be caused by a hidden change or trial that has disrupted a life. If we see these intimate relationships as God- created we should pray regularly and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading to respond to opportunities to speak a word of encouragement or to step up to meet a special need in a Christ-reflecting way… “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:16-18).

Christ inviting benevolence creates new improbable relationships. Diligent disciples are compelled by the truth that as born again believers the Spirit of Christ resides in us to empower us to be His witnesses to the whole world around us… “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This means that everyone we meet, no matter where and however briefly, is an opportunity for Christ reflecting ministry that restores them to Him and connects them to us… “Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:12-13).

Christ inviting benevolence results in imperishable relationships. Jesus promised that generous disciples will be repaid at the resurrection. Whatever reward we receive at that time will be eternal and everlasting, far surpassing any repayment we might receive today… “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:33-34).

As we grow up into Christ, our charity reveals our hearts are approaching heaven as we grow in…

The Benevolence that is Blessed.