Invited In

Key Verse: “How happy is the one you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We wIll be satisfied with the goodness of your house, and the holiness of your temple.” Psalms 65:4 (CSB)

I remember standing outside of the church that day all alone. Everyone else was inside eating their lunch. I stood outside eating mine.

To a child, I didn’t understand but I followed the rule anyway. A rule my mom told me to obey. 

You don’t eat in the House of the Lord. It was for worship only.  Even though the kitchen was in the basement, it was still part of the church in my mom’s eyes. So I followed the rule. I obeyed.  

Even at such a young age, I was a rule follower. Always trying to do what I was supposed to do.  And it benefited me most of the time. That day it let me join in on all the fun activities at my Grandmother’s church. Missing out on having lunch in a basement kitchen wasn’t too big a price to pay. After all, I got to make potholders and burn wood to make a sign after lunch.  

 

As I began to get older, keeping up with all the rules just began to wear me out. 

Rules became a way for me to go in instead of a way to keep me out. I would work tirelessly trying to do the right thing, wear the right thing, say the right thing just to be invited in. 

I am going, to be honest, and say I even threw caution to the wind and did the wrong thing to fit in a time or two. 

I was always following some kind of advice.  Some kind of rule.  A rule that gave the illusion that if I followed along I would be happy.  

I learned that there are good rules. Good rules bring freedom and happiness if we keep them. Breaking them brings bondage and ugly consequences when we don’t. 

And there are those other rules that we let others impose on us. Rules that despite some good intentions are better left unfollowed. 

Those rules that say …..

Unless you accomplish this you aren’t good enough. 

Unless you own this you can’t be part of this elite important group. 

Unless you are wearing this you aren’t attractive. 

Unless you are skinny you aren’t beautiful. 

Unless you have this name you aren’t favored. 

Rules that tell me if I don’t obey I’m not part of the group.  Rules that leave me standing outside. Again.

Always some rule that belittles us and keeps us from being full-time participants. Keeping us from unity and acceptance.  Even keeping us from closeness with our God. 

Having a desire to keep rules is in itself a good thing. God put that desire to be obedient way down in our very soul.  A desire that was meant to help us serve a loving and just God.  A loving father with the advice given for his children’s best interest. Advice and instruction spread across the pages of scripture lovingly written to help break the bondage of sin bringing us freedom.  Freedom to experience joy, peace, and his very presence. 

 

 But keeping all the rules will never in itself make us worthy enough. Never be enough to make us feel beautiful enough. Ephesians 2:8 reminds us “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

And never because we broke a rule are we forever banned and left standing outside uninvited and alone for He has forever made the way for us to go in.

There is the freedom that I have found that wasn’t made possible because of my performance but because of His on a cross all those years ago.  

And friend when we do keep his precious word it will never keep us out but always invite us in. 

Psalms 65:4 (CSB) says this:  “How happy is the one you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We wIll be satisfied with the goodness of your house, and the holiness of your temple.”

Because of what Christ did alone none of us have to stand alone outside but we have all been invited in.  

Invited into every room of His house. Every. Single. Room.  That means the upstairs, downstairs, in the kitchen, into the courts, and inside the veil. It has made a place for us at His table and has ushered us in to the very throne room of our God.  

Because of Christ, we have been found worthy, beautiful, accepted, blessed, favored, forgiven, free, full of purpose, valued, and loved.  Because of Christ whether we have kept all the rules or broke too many to count we have been accepted as good enough. Period. 

Say it out loud today…I am invited in. Period. 

And don’t being invited in feel so good.