Open Invitation

Our Invitation has been sent; the Son

Of God has signed it with redeeming blood

His banquet table overflows with food

And there is none forgotten; no, not one

Oh, who will come to partake of this feast?

And who will trust in More than eyes perceive?

His call implores, north south, now west and east

Ah, who will reply,’ yes Lord, I believe’?

…and thus receive His ticket to a place

Where sorrow cannot come; no pain or tears

Can enter where the Lord Himself appears

To wipe away its traces from each face

For He is glad to end their suffering

He turns; eager to hear what they will say

As they behold Love’s precious offering

An Invitation to God’s Wedding Day

“Almost, almost”, they cry with sluggish talk

Then turn to serve the lordship of the mind

Where love is clothed in purpose undefined

And hours are the flowers of a clock

They walk, almost persuaded to believe

In One they cannot see; Want wails within

But lords of Self are easy to deceive

By boasting ballyhoo of pride and sin

The spirit wars against the flesh; lust flirts

With the beholder, pleasing to the eye

its promises can never satisfy

But torments the partaker with vile thirst

…nothing can quench; pagan comforts are cold

Somewhere the Bridegroom lingers at A Door

Once more He puts His banquet feast on hold

There are too many ‘almosts’ to ignore

© Janet Martin

While we were standing in line with our tickets on Friday with a warning not to lose them or we can't get in, I was suddenly struck by the image of another Gate and another lineup.
Do you have your 'ticket'? It's price has been paid!
 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:16-18

Yesterday a little girl in my Sunday School class said she knows heaven will be so beautiful because only God-made things will be there and nothing man-made at all.
'yes' agreed another little boy, 'but then I wonder what the table for the Feast will be made of and what it will look like. Will it simply be spread out on the ground?' :-)