As I noted yesterday, this past Sunday we meditated some on the idea of meekness. One of the outworkings of meekness is, truly as Paul says, putting others before ourselves. This is such a drastic paradigm shift that when it happens, there is no other explanation than God. We naturally look out for ourselves. We don’t need any encouragement to do this, it is simply who we are. Selfishness is a core human trait.

But sadly, many Christians don’t live out this paradigm shift to its fullest extent. While we admit knowing that we must put others before ourselves, our practice of this doesn’t quite match up. I was struck again by just how radical Kingdom living is by Jesus’ introduction to the Parable fo the Great Banquet in Luke 14:12-24. In verses 12-14, Jesus says:

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. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

As I’ve meditated over this section the past few days, I am continually struck by Jesus’ insistence that the “poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” be invited, specifically because they cannot repay. How different from our way of thinking this is! Jesus knows our natural tendency to want our backs scratched when we scratch, so He specifically says “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” (Luke 14:12).

Jesus continually calls us to live with an eye towards reward in the next life rather than this one. When we do things to be recognized in this life, we have our reward. But what specifically strikes me is that Jesus commands to invite those who specifically cannot repay because they cannot repay. When left to ourselves, these are often the same people we try to distance ourselves from, yet Jesus says they are the ones we should be drawing near. I wonder how many churches have made someone feel “less desirable” only to have that person not return?

I’m not trying to accuse anyone, nor am I trying to point fingers. Instead, I’m just wondering aloud about some of the implications of the Gospel. I wonder if many churches do not emphasize evangelism, perhaps subconciously, because it brings in people with “problems.” It disrupts the “status quo” and it makes us feel uncomfortable. Many American churches (I cannot speak for other contexts) are incredibly homogeneous. Yet the Gospel breaks down the very barriers we so often hide behind.

I’ve certainly become convicted that I far too often do things, even good things, for the wrong reasons. I like to receive the recognition that Jesus says is meaningless when I ought to be pursuing those who specifically cannot repay.

• Read The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Live Our Faith by Alan Wolfe
• Read Crunchy Cons by Rod Dreher