Excuses or Opportunities
Luke 14:16-18 –
“He said to him, ‘A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ ‘But they all alike began to make excuses.’”
Bob knocked on his neighbor’s door. When Barry answered the knock, Bob asked him, “Can I borrow your rope?” “No,” Barry answered, “we are using it.” Bob was surprised at being turned down and probed, “Really? What are you using it for?” “Well,” Barry answered, “we are using it to tie up our orange juice.” “How is that possible,” Bob asked. Barry paused and then responded, “I don’t know, but if you don’t want to do something, then one excuses is as good as another.”
Over the decades of preaching, I’ve heard just about every excuse imaginable for forsaking the worship of God. People have told me that they do not come because they are too busy. Some have told me that they don’t come because they are out of town. (Every Sunday?) I knew one many who had a mysterious illness that afflicted him on Sunday, but never on Saturday (the Devil must have sent it). I do not know how many times I have had people tell me that they were coming, but just as they were getting ready, relatives from out of town came over.
Let me tell you how one man handled such a situation. One Wednesday night in 1999, it was getting near church time. Byron Nelson had a friend come by for help with his golf swing. As it drew nearer the time for Bible study, he turned to the friend and said, “We go to church on Wednesday night. You are welcome to come with us or stay here till we get back.” The friend decided he too would go to study the Bible. So that night Byron and his wife brought Payne Stewart to worship and Bible study in a little church in Roanoke, Texas.
He could have just said, “I have company, famous company, so I’ll just stay here with him.” He did not. He used that time as an opportunity to bring a friend to worship. Some folks look for excuses to miss worship and others look for opportunities to share worship and Bible study.
Lonnie Davis