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Though the original guests declined the opportunity presented to them, the invitation extended to everyone who heard of it; there was no one excluded from the invitation. God could have shut the door at the first rejection, but instead, He opened it wider. Now, any who received the invitation to this great feast and made excuse not to come, the door will be shut and they will have to realize the opportunity they so wrecklessly threw away. Even though the first invited, those who the master held in high regard declined, the messengers are sent out to spread the invitation to this great event, they must be diligent in ensuring that the opportunity is extended to everyone they see. It is the duty of the 'servants of the Master' to fill the house for the event. He desires that His house be full at the return of Jesus Christ. A time that we wait in joyful hope!

I think, at present time, the kingdom is small because of the confines of our imaginations; I think that we cannot truly phathom the greatness of heaven. The seeds are planted for the kingdom to grow every time we share the Word or perform an act of kindness in His name. I believe that we must always be conscious of our thoughts and actions and rely on God's wisdom; this will lead us to the narrow gate. Because the invitation is offered to all, there will be a diverse group who will enter the kingdom, but compared to all that have received the invitation, relatively few will come.

The contrast of the huge and small debt, to me, is an attempt to show us the relatively small pardon it is for us to forgive one another as compared to the great pardon God grants man and offers us the priceless reward of living in His righteous heaven forever. I am the one who has been pardoned from my sin to receive an eternal reward; how petty would I seem if I could nor forgive someone who has wronged or hurt me in some way? It is a very small price for such a big reward.

This quote is so famous because it sums up the entire message of the gospel. God loved us, even in our sinful state; He loves us so much, He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for us. Most of us can identify with the heart of gladly giving our own lives to save our children, and here is the Creator of the universe who gave His only Son, so that we have the opportunity to live! I could fathom no greater sacrifice. This passage teaches us about a love so great; amazing love!! He asks that we accept His sacrifice for our lives. The acceptance brings us to a place where we need to know more of this great opportunity and search the scriptures daily and drink of it's teaching. The Word leads us to greater faith and a yearning to want Him to lead us in our thoughts and actions. We have the opportunity to live by heavenly principles, even while we still live in the world, and forever!!

Jesus teaches that one must be born again to be able to enter the kingdom of God. I'm not sure that Nicodemus understands this concept (at least at the time). He asks Jesus, 'can a man enter again his mother's womb when he is old?' Because Nicodemus continued to follow Jesus, we can consider that the revelation of a 'spiritual birth' became clear to him.

Jesus teaches us that there is nothing on earth that can compare to the treasure of heaven. There are so many times that we get 'caught up' with what is important getting through everyday life that we take our eyes off the Kingdom. Before we know it, we are coveting for things for ourselves before thinking of others. It seems to be a constant battle to stay away from such bondage. Without daily prayer and reading, there would no defense against it. There are so many nowadays getting so caught up in anger about the condition of the world, but oh, that wonderful promise of Jesus return! Order will be restored, the chaos will pass away. His promises are hope, today and forever!!

Poverty and self-sacrifice can be done with wrong intensions; many times we can give out of duty, trying to fullill our 'obligation' to do what is required of us. This is a religious attitude. Jesus calls us to a higher level where we give with a heart for those less fortunate than ourselves. We must give out of compassion; not obligation. God wants our hearts to be right; anything less is in vain. Jesus asked the man to follow Him out of love and compassion. He is the better portion. He knows His influence can reveal sin in his/our lives so we can come up higher. The man could not see he was given the opportunity to change his heart and become a more Godly person. He did not want to give up his religious spirit and closed his eyes to the world to come. He was too happy with his worldly life to want more.

It seems Jesus saw more than meets the eye. The fortune seems to represent worldly **** and power that the ruler is used to receiving. This comfortable living and influence is something that needs to be abandoned so he can have full dependence on God and not himself. This troubles us because we do not give away all we possess to follow Him. I often struggle with this; I feel that I am not rich by American standards, but definetly compared to many areas of the world. I guess I only try to give more when I have abundance and share with the needy instead of 'building bigger barns' for myself. Spiritual dangers are in jeopardy when we believe that it was because of our own cleverness that we have gained riches and that we are entitled to live extravagantly because we earned it. The bible warns that those that have much, will be expected much.

These two parables are alike in the way that they both are examples of finding something that is priceless; something that has more value than all of their posessions combined. They sell everything to have the object of their affection. This is compared to the treasure of finding out about the gospel and the opportunity to live in the righteousness of heaven. The good news of being able to live in heaven should encourage us to keep our eyes on the things above and live in accordance to the teachings of the bible and of Jesus.

There will be a time when we will no longer have a choice to follow Christ; the day is not known to us and will arrive suddenly. At that time, we will be divided in two groups; those who believe in Jesus Christ and strive to live according to His teachings, and those who don't. Jesus told us that He wants us all to repent and live with Him eternally. The same loving God who sacrificed so much for me, made the sacrifice for us all. He has left it up to us to show love and mercy for His Name's sake. He has asked us to spread the good news about Christ and our opportunity for salvation through Him. It needs to be our honor to spread the love we have experienced to others.

Jesus and the prophets have heed us fair warning; Jesus compares His return to a thief in the night. The warning has already been given to us through God's Word. It is up to us to keep our eyes on those things yet to come. Focus on what the Bible tells us to do. Guard your heart, for that is the place God sees us. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind! Always have faith and thankfulness in all your circumstances, whether lacking or in abundance.

The Kingdom of God is present in Jesus because He was the Son of God, chosen and accepting of the plan to save us. He lives His earthly life totally in God's will. He seeks God's will and guidance so completely; He is the Lamb without blemish. We were freely given the gift of the Holy Spirit and God's Word to persue God's kingdom. The choice is ours; He provides everything we need to persue and experience the kingdom.

We must 'seek the kingdom' continually; this should be our goal. The more we continue to ask, the more He answers us. The more we listen, the more we recognize His voice. We gain confidence in our prayers by listening to His whispers to our hearts and following what is right according to the Word. The more we engage ourselves in righteous living, the more confidence we have when coming to the throne.

I think many of us may 'waste' time and talent by believing that we have to be out winning souls in a way that God did not gift us to. We need to use what God gave us; if your happy serving, serve. If prayer and intercession is your gift, use it. If the Holy Spirit puts a strong desire in your heart that aligns with the Word of God, do it!