The Party!

Tonight my nine year old, Luke, had his last baseball game. He had made the all star team which was a great accomplishment given he is the middle child! You see, he runs in the shadows of his older brother and younger sister. He wears hand-me-down baseball pants, takes whatever color Gatorade is left in the fridge, and fights to get a word in! But he made the All Star team and we were happy he had the stage in our family. Tonight was his final game of the season.


It didn't start or end too well. The other team was just out hitting, out fielding, and all around out playing them! They were bigger, faster and stronger. I think we ended up losing 17-1 in four innings!!


Luke is a pretty easy going kid and he didn't take the loss too hard. In fact, after the game, he asked if he could have a friend spend the night. But, the friend had to decline because he was attending a birthday party the next morning.


As we drove home, Luke mentioned the party. He said all the boys were going. He named about four of his friends who had been invited. He said they were talking about it in the dug out. They were even going to Adventureland, which is a really great amusement park! Now that is a party!


And...in a moment I will forever regret as a mother, I said to Luke, "Well, why weren't you invited?"


The minute the words came out of my mouth, I had regret about saying them. He didn't know why he wasn't invited. He just knew everyone else his age who had been in the dug-out with him was invited. He just knew they were going to have a blast and he wasn't going to be there. He didn't know why. He just felt left out, horrible, and simply uninvited!


A couple tears streamed down his face. He quickly turned his head to look out the window. He didn't want to make eye contact with me and he surely didn't want his little sister in the backseat to see him crying. Slowly his dirt stained hand crept up his face to wipe the tears away.


You know, there is another huge party going on right now. The angels are singing and dancing. The streets are gold. God is there in all His glory! There are no tears or heartache or pain. It's called heaven and the Bible explains it in great detail.


Some of us will join that party one day. We will dance and sing and praise our Lord and Savior. Can't you just feel the joy! We won't see pain. We won't feel disgrace. We won't know the words "turmoil" or "heartbreak" or "hardship"!!  A big 'ol foot stompin, booty shakin' party!!!!


And...some of our friends, some of the people we work with, some of our very own family members might stand outside the gate and look inside and see us. The joy. The love. The glory on our faces because we accepted the invitation from God to believe in His son, to accept His saving grace, not by works, but by faith. There we are...just having a grand old time with our Lord and Savior and all His believers!


They will peer through that gate, our friends, our co-workers, our family... and some, some of them, much like Luke, might cry a few tears and say, "WHY DIDN'T YOU INVITE ME?"


Today...invite them...everyone you know...invite them...share the love of Christ. Share HIS invitation! Tell them how to get in the door of the party!  Don't let them feel the neglect that Luke felt...INVITE THEM!

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

Ephesians 2:8