During the summer months, I received several invites for weddings and showers that asked me to return an RSVP. As I sat down to respond to the final summer wedding invite, my eyes drifted to a framed poem hanging in my dining room called The Invitation (Danise Hahlbohm).
It reads…
You are invited to come dine with me,
From now through all eternity.
Believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
And dine with Jesus as your host.
To live in heaven eternally,
All you must do is…
R.S.V.P.
As I read this poem again, I pondered the deeper meaning. Of course, in this poem, to RSVP means that if you accept Jesus in your heart you will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. But saying yes is only the beginning. Responding to an invitation doesn’t end with returning the little card with the correct box being checked. That RSVP means you have made a commitment to attend the event that you have been invited to. The writer of this poem describes this as a dinner invitation from Jesus himself.
In our house, we have made it a priority to sit down and have dinner together as a family almost every day of the week. My children no longer live in my home, but sitting down together is still important to my husband and I. There were many times when our children were growing up that we adjusted our dinner time so that everyone could sit down and eat together because it was a priority and a commitment that we made to each other. Sitting down to dinner with our family created time for us to grow closer together. It also meant conversation, a lot of laughs, and sometimes even correction.
Jesus is asking that you make time with Him a priority. He is asking for you to commune with Him, converse with Him, laugh in His presence, and sometimes take His gentle correction.
John 15:5-8 is a reminder that we will not grow in our faith without taking that time to strengthen our relationship with Him. The Message says, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
Have you sent your RSVP? Have you asked Jesus in your heart?
Did you make the commitment that comes with it?
RSVP today and make yourself at home with Him as John 15:5-8 describes, make it a priority to sit down and dine at His table daily.
Lord, thank you for the invitation to spend time in your presence. Forgive me if I haven’t followed through with the commitment of my RSVP. Please help me today, to make that commitment to spending time in your presence daily. Help me to make that time a priority. And thank you that when I make that commitment to having a relationship with you, I have the assurance of an eternity in Heaven. Amen.
Comentarios