In the kingdom of God, the rules are different than what we're used to in our everyday lives. Jesus teaches us about generosity without expectation, grace without condition, and a calling that compels us to invite others to the table.

What Does True Kingdom Generosity Look Like?

In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus redirects His attention to the host of a dinner and challenges our conventional understanding of hospitality:

"When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

Jesus is teaching us to host with heaven's heart. The kingdom of God operates under different principles than our world does. True generosity expects nothing in return. When we give with no strings attached, we align our giving with the heart of God.

This raises an important question: Are we giving to make friends, or are we giving to make disciples? Our motivation should not be to see more people walk through our doors, but to show the love of Christ regardless of where they go or what they do in return.

What Happens When We Give Without Expectation?

There's a spiritual law at play here: When you give to those who cannot repay, heaven will take up the repayment. God promises that if you give to those who can't repay, He will repay you at the right time.

This applies to all forms of giving:

When you give, don't look for repayment. Don't even let that be a side thought. Let God choose when and how it gets repaid, and you will have plenty.

What Excuses Keep Us From God's Table?

In Luke 14:15-20, Jesus tells a story about a man who prepared a great banquet and invited many guests. When everything was ready, he sent his servant to tell the invited guests to come. But they all began making excuses:

These excuses represent misplaced priorities. It wasn't that they rejected the feast—they rejected the invitation from the person who prepared it. They all still ate somewhere else that day.

We must ask ourselves: What excuses do we come up with that keep us from sitting at God's table? What keeps us from saying yes to Him?

We often say "later" to what God says is "ready now." Our earthly priorities can become our eternal roadblocks if we're not careful.

Who Is God Calling Us to Invite?

When the invited guests refused to come, the master told his servant in Luke 14:21-23:

"Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame... Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled."

This represents God's invitation to those who were considered unworthy—the Gentiles, the marginalized, the overlooked. Jesus made a way for us to be invited, even though there was no way we could possibly repay His goodness and grace.

The invitee becomes the inviter. The servant becomes the evangelist. We are called to go out to the highways and hedges and compel others to come in.

How Do We Invite Others to God's Table?

God's grace is too big to go unshared. The change He's made in your life is too great to keep hidden. "You don't light a candle and then put a bushel over it." God has lit your fire—let it show!

We invite others not just with our words but with our lives. Are we living in a way that makes people say, "There's something different about them"? There are many who claim Christ but don't display Him. It's better to display Him and leave no doubt as to where the source is.

Life Application

This week, think of one person—maybe a neighbor, a co-worker, or someone you regularly encounter—and invite them to "come and dine," to experience and taste that the Lord is good.

Find a way to serve someone without any expectation of recognition. Serve someone on the margins, someone in need. The world doesn't have to know, but God will repay you because you gave from a kingdom purpose.

Ask yourself these questions:

Remember, you're not just invited—you're deeply wanted at God's table. The Master has prepared a place for you not because you earned it, but because He loves you. May your heart reflect His generosity by giving to those who cannot repay, inviting those the world overlooks, and sharing the grace you have freely received.

The table is ready. Come and dine. And then live like someone who's been fed by grace, making sure His table stays full.