“HANDS THAT ARE TOO FULL”
BY PASTOR MARK TAYLOR
And they all with one consent began to make excuse. (Luke 14:18)
In Luke 14: 16-24 the Lord Jesus tells us of a king who invited several people to a great supper. They all begin to make excuses why they could not come. They were all too busy. This is a message to us that we can also be too busy and not have the right priorities in our lives.
There are spiritual applications of these scriptures that apply to Salvation. Everyone is invited to come to the the Lord Jesus for Salvation, but many people have excuses why they can’t come to the Lord right now. This message is to Christians who are called by the Lord to serve Him with their abilities and talents the Lord has given them, but they make excuses why they can not serve Him.
Suppose a father asks his son to do something for him . The son replies: "Father I have something in my hands. When I am finished with what is in my hands I will do what you want me to do." If the son really cares about His father's needs, He will put down the somethings in his hand.
It is hard for God to find someone who does not have His hands full. Our hands can only hold so much stuff. Therefore if there are already things in our hands, we cannot take up new things without putting down the other things.
There will be times when our Heavenly Father asks us to do something for Him within those gifts and abilities He has given us. It may be something as simple as giving a cup of cold water in Jesus's name - some small act of kindness. Or it may be something that requires a good deal of effort and energy on our part. Often the request from Him is something that only we can do, and if we do not do it, it will not get done.
So how do we respond? Do we do like the young man did, because he had too many things in his hands? Do we tell our Heavenly Father that we will get around to it when our hands are empty? Or do we lay down those other things, and there will always be "other things"?
A person’s strength is limited. No one has an unlimited supply of mental or physical energy. A man's emotions are limited. We cannot continue to use up our emotional strength on things we cannot change. If a person uses up all their physical strength, emotional strength, and mental energy for causes that mean nothing, then there is nothing left for God when He is in need of your service to Him and others.
We are all here because God has been good to us. He has given us health. He has given us good careers, good spouses, children, and friends. He has given us an abundance of financial blessings to enjoy. Our Heavenly Father has also put in us gifts and abilities that other people are still trying to develop, or will never develop.
There will be times that you are like a fireman at the fire station. The Lord wants you to just sit around at the station and learn how to be a better fire fighter, until there is an emergency and then He sends you out on a call. There are times when He gives you daily assignments to reach out and be the person who encourages others as they go out and fight the fires. There are times you are the mechanic who makes sure everything is working properly, so when there is a fire, people can get the help they need. There are times you may be the dispatcher who gets the right information to the people who need to help others. Regardless, when The Lord needs you, you have to put down those other things that are in your hands to help God accomplish what He wants to do for others.
If you have ever asked The Lord Jesus to forgive you of your sins, and asked Him to come into your life, you are a child of God. But you or even more than that. God does not work on Earth to accomplish His will outside of using His Children. You or the hands, feet, and mouth of God to your family and friends, and to others God might send into your life.
There are times when our opportunity to walk and talk for God will be an individual task. At other times God will want you to be part of a group to accomplish His will. There will be times we can combine our resources, talents , and abilities to make a difference in the lives of others. This can be done through a church, a club, or a group of concerned people.
God wants to help a lot of people in this world, but He will not do it without people who love Him. We can limit what God wants to do in the lives of our families, our friends, and others if we do not put down the things in our hands and pick up the things that will help our Heavenly Father.
The important thing for us to remember is that God loves us and has chosen us to serve Him while we have good health and good resources. There will be times God wants us to relax and renew ourselves, and we should not feel guilty about that. But there is also a time to give our love and service to others.
Remember you are doing it for your Heavenly Father, not for those who deserve it, or for those who do not deserve your time and energy. Some people will not say thank you and some may not even accept your offer of love or help. But that is ok. God appreciates your obedience and sacrifice. He will both reward you with blessings from Heaven, and use others to be a blessing to you in your time of need.
At the end of the story that the Lord Jesus told, He expressed that the King was very disappointed and angry towards those who made excuses and were too busy to come to the dinner and fellowship he had provided for them. One spiritual application of this story is that if you make excuses on why you cannot serve the Lord, He will find someone else, and you will lose your opportunity to be blessed by Him. Those who are offered Salvation and forgiveness from the Lord and reject it, may also lose their opportunity to receive eternal life and go to Heaven.
What is in your hands today? Are they too full? Do you have excuses? Will you put those things down long enough to help your Heavenly Father help others?
