there is still room

In Jesus' parable of the great banquet in Luke 14, He goes to great lengths to describe how great it really was, and still is.

The banquet-thrower invited many guests.  And when many of these made lame excuses of why they couldn't attend, he was hurt, and angry, and then invited many more poor and disabled citizens who accepted his invitation, and joyfully donned the wedding garments he provided.

This reminds me of the true story of the Indianapolis woman whose fiance backed out of their wedding a week before their $30,000 reception at the Ritz Carlton.  The jilted bride, hurt and angry, decided not to waste the reception, contacted some local shelters, and threw a party for 170 homeless people, providing them with suits and dresses suitable for the venue, and one of the best nights of their lives.  She did, however, change the menu to boneless chicken, "in honor of the groom".

But in the case of Jesus' story, the servants came to the house owner to tell him that there was still room.  And so he told them to "go out into the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full" (Luke 14:22-23).

This sounds so much like our Loving Father, our Friend Jesus, and our Advocate The Holy Spirit.  Always wanting to make room for one more, even as He may be grieving over those who have not yet accepted His Gracious Invitation to feast with Him in this life and in eternity.  

But I wonder if we're like those servants, who come to their master to tell him that there is still room in the banquet?  Will we go out to compel others to come in, or have we adopted the 20/80 rule, in which we let those 20% of church people do 80% of the evangelistic work?  Do we really want God's House to be full, no matter who comes in, or have we adopted the church-growth rule that 80% occupancy (let alone the more normal 30-50%) is more than enough?

The Master states it clearly: My House will be full - there is still room.