By Kevin Harris, pastor of the Illawarra Community Baptist Church in Wollongong, NSW
Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
Luke 14:12-14
When we receive a gift, it is customary to reply with a gift of our own. You invite me for dinner; now I owe you a dinner. This is the meaning of recompence.
There are those who cannot recompence others because they have little to give. They are poverty-stricken. In Jesus’ day, the poor, maimed, lame and blind were such people. If you fed them, there would be no reciprocal invitation.
The Lord Jesus not only urges us to feed poverty-stricken people in a physical sense, but also in a spiritual sense. We must take the dinner of the gospel to people who are of the lower social classes.
There is a tremendous promise attached to this command. Each time we bless someone who cannot repay us, the Lord takes note. He will tally up such blessings and reimburse us at ‘the resurrection of the just.’
When will that be?
It has to be the Rapture, when the Lord gathers His people to the clouds to meet Him in the air. This is the event that triggers the Judgment Seat of Christ when the Lord will pay back every act of kindness and every gospel witness to those society calls ‘unfortunate.’ Revelation 22:12 shows the tie between the Rapture and the Rewarding time: ‘And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.’
Father, help me to live with the resurrection of the just in view. Show me people that I can bless both physically and spiritually. Thank You that while earth’s paybacks won’t last past my death, Your payback is eternal. Help me to purposefully and aggressively accumulate Your heavenly rewards. I ask this in the Name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
This article was written by Kevin Harris Dapto pastor of Illawarra Community Baptist Church.