Give up your spot~ In His Word 11-27
When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were
trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them
this advice: “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of
honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been
invited? The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you
will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the
foot of the table!
“Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table.
Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better
place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. For
those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves
will be exalted.” Luke 14:7-11
Sometimes when I read the verses before writing my weekly
blog I think, okay God what can I add to that? I mean Jesus said it all, did it
all, but then He points something out to me to draw our eyes and hearts to. In
this case it is to give up your seat.
When you give up
something for another person it may seem like a hassle or it may just be embarrassing
but as Jesus was saying here we need to be humbled sometimes. We need to realize
that the seat you always sit in, or the best seats, are not just for you.
Sometime God may make you move from what you are deserving in your eyes to a
lesser place. That is humbling but God knows why He has chosen that moment.
Recently we heard a preacher who changed his thinking from
all about me to all about Him; that is humbleness. He had been going about the
preaching in one way but then realized, the reason is not the focus, but that even
he as a preacher needed to be humbled to hear from God.
Sometimes we have to step down from a ministry so that God
can bring us to a new place, but sometimes it is as simple as allowing someone
else to grow and be used of God as well.
There are times in life that we need to step aside and allow
someone better at our job to take over, and sometimes we may not think they can
do it as well as we would have done, but God knows the reason why that person
needed to do it.
Another way we can ‘give this person your seat’ is in line
at the grocery store. One day when I was nursing an injured knee I had to get
groceries for my household. I approached the line with just a few items as that
was the needed things and saw a person with a full cart in front of me. I knew
it was going to take a while, but I did not think about it too much and I
focused on my balance to keep from hurting too much. The pain was real, by the
way, it was not a happy time. Just when I was shifting legs the woman in front
of me suggested I go before her. I was not wincing in pain, but I felt it, and
she could not tell but she offered because I had so few items. It felt so
special to be given this place in line!
Such a small thing gave me strength to finish the task of buying my few
items and getting home to rest my leg.
You never know what the person behind you is going through,
and even if they have a lot of items, it’s sometimes a fun thing to give
someone a blessing and allow them to go before you.
Give them your seat
in line this week! Look around you when
you are waiting to get to sit at a restaurant, sometimes it gets full,
and you have to wait but a family comes in behind you and you know they will be
waiting longer. Give them your seat! In Jesus’ name.