“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

“In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” (Matthew 18:14)

“Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” (Matthew 22:9)

In the previous devotional, we learned that God desires a relationship with all people. Today, we will briefly look at two parables of Jesus that illustrate how God actively seeks and invites all people to come to Him.

In Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7, we find simple stories of a shepherd searching for his lost sheep. The compassionate shepherd leaves his other ninety-nine sheep in safety to seek the one that wandered off. When he finds it, he rejoices! These parables demonstrate God’s great love for us, all of us, those who have not chosen to believe as well as those who believe but have wandered off. Jesus is the shepherd who searches for you, to bring you into His loving arms and rejoice over you!

The next parable is found in Matthew 22:1-14 and Luke 14:15-24. Here, God is compared to a king who plans a great wedding banquet for his son. At first, the king invites many guests. But when it is time for the celebration to begin, those guests are full of excuses and refuse to come. Upset, the king instructs his servants to go out and invite anyone they can find so that his house will be full. This parable is a beautiful picture of God’s desire for all to come into His Kingdom. Again, we see God search for and extend His invitation to anyone who will come.

Today’s Truth: God seeks you out and invites you into His Kingdom.*

* To enter into the Kingdom of God means to allow God to rule in your heart, surrendering your life to Him. (This will be discussed soon in: God’s Plan of Salvation.)

~by Arrow © 2016
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