We are working and working in order receive this invitation to the feast, but we are striving while seated right in front of the celebration.Kellie Calhoun
San Juan, Puerto Rico
The team often interacts with different organizations, ministries, and churches while in Puerto Rico. One of the ministries they served with was Las Tribus youth group, at ACM La Cumbre church in San Juan. Under the direction of youth pastor Dorita Ayala, Las Tribus has become a vibrant group of young people who find joy in seeking hard after God, and enjoy engaging missions work and good fellowship. On Friday, September 30th, the team served in a Worship and Prayer night with Las Tribus. The team led worship and colleague, Kellie Calhoun, presented a challenging message that resonated with everyone in attendance that night. Here is an excerpt from Kellie’s message:
“When I was about 10 years old, I played soccer. It was my goal in life to make my Dad proud, and so I would work extra hard to get a goal. Because every time I scored, I would hear him say, ‘That’s My Girl!’ Oh, those words were the best reward. You see, soccer was how I connected with my dad. It was the only way we bonded. See, my dad drank, and we didn’t have much in common beyond Soccer.
In Matthew, chapter 22, I was reading about a father earlier this week. A father that prepared a feast for his son. Jesus was talking to His disciples here and told a story of not just any dad, but a King, who had prepared a wedding feast for his son. He sent out invitations for people to come to the feast and they declined— for one, business, for another, farming. The others killed his servants…Can you imagine the King’s heart for His Son?
When I thought of God as that father, my only thought was— “Afraid.” You see, the way I responded to my dad on the soccer field translated to the way I served God. I would work, and work, and work just to hear those words, “That’s my girl.” I just wanted to know that my Heavenly Father was proud of me, that I was doing the right thing, that I was His girl and that He loved me. I share all of this because I believe that there are some of you sitting in this room tonight, battling with the belief that you are not “good” enough to come to the table; some of you wonder if you are even sitting at the table at all.
If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you most certainly are sitting at His table, and you get to enjoy the wedding feast and all the dancing that comes along with it. There are those of us sitting at the table that need to be reminded of the benefits of being God’s son or daughter. We are working and working in order receive this invitation to the feast, but we are striving while we are seated in front of the celebration. We have been invited, and we need to be reminded of what it means to sit and enjoy our position next to the Father. Then there are some of us that sit at the feast, eat, and enjoy its wonder. You are charged to go to the streets and invite those who haven’t been seated yet! You know the benefits of being the son or daughter of God, you know it is a free gift to all who would receive. There are people who need to come and enjoy the same benefits as you. They, too, can come to the table and eat and enjoy the fullness of life, our Jesus!”