Daily Devotions
Thursday, August 28, 2025
Luke 14:1, 7-11 – One Sabbath, when He [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching Him carefully. … Now He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
When I was a child, I read this parable of Jesus, and I took it as straightforward good advice. Don’t put yourself forward, wait for others to do that; that way you avoid embarrassment and you might possibly end up being honored in front of everybody. If not, no harm done!
And it is good advice—but what I missed is the bit that says, “Now He told them a parable …” Jesus is interested in more than just social schemes for avoiding embarrassment. There’s something more to this story, and as usual, it involves God.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast …” Well, and we’ve heard Jesus tell several of those stories, haven’t we? And the inviter is always God. And the wedding feast? Usually it’s said to be for the king’s son—that is, Jesus—and right away we know we’re looking at a picture of the Last Day, when Jesus returns to take us to be with Him forever—as His church, His Bride.
So now Jesus’ advice is taking on a cosmic aspect. “When God invites you into His kingdom, don’t claim for yourself a position of honor; you may find yourself embarrassed on the Last Day, when all hearts are laid open and the truth about us is known to everybody. Instead, humble yourself, so that on that day, God may say to you, ‘Move up to a more honorable place,’ and you will be honored instead of embarrassed.”
Really, this advice should be easy for us to follow; for we can never forget the reason we’re invited to God’s party in the first place—and it isn’t because we’re such spectacularly good people! No, it’s because God loves us, though we are sinful, broken people; and He sent Jesus into our world to rescue us and bring us home to God’s kingdom. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus broke the power of sin, death, and the devil over us; and now we can respond to God’s invitation with joy and excitement instead of shame and embarrassment. We are loved and welcome! And Jesus Himself has seen to it that we are clean and dressed, fit for God’s celebration. This is His gift to us, because He loves us and wants us with Him forever.
WE PRAY: Lord, I want to come to Your party. Thank You for inviting me. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- What is the best party or feast you’ve ever been to?
- What made it so special?
- What will make God’s celebration at the end of the world most special to you?
Today's Readings:
2 Chronicles 7-92 Corinthians 2