Think about that. Dining with the creator of the universe, the master of all, the king above all Kings. Matthew did. Matthew’s friends did. They received a private audience with the King. What an honor!

And what great dead did they do to earn this great honor? What mighty feat was accomplished here? What warranted this reward? Only this… “They were following Him”. That’s it!

Religion is full of rules, ceremonies, rituals, demands… Things designed to make us worthy of God’s presence. Paths laid out to take us to Him, to earn our way to heaven. Religion is man making himself worthy to be with God.

But it is all a lie!

We can not make ourselves worthy. It is impossible. We can not wash away our own sin. No ceremony will suffice. No words or actions will do. None. We will always fail at fixing ourselves.

What to do then? Simple. The Gospel is following Him, just as we are! It is Jesus’ job to fix us, all we must do is be there, to invite Him in. He brings the light. He washes away the stains of our past. It is all Him!

Matthew and his friends, were just plain sinners. They did not become holy to deserve Jesus’ presence for dinner. They became holy because they invited Him to dinner! You don’t need to improve anything, don’t need to fix anything, don’t even need to “tidy up” first! Just invite Jesus in! Just as you are. Now, here. Open the door and ask Him into your life, your problems, your mess.

He is waiting not for those who are clean, He is waiting for those willing to follow, willing to invite Him in now as is. It is really that simple!

We can dine with Jesus. He will sit and talk, touch, help, and bring that peace we seek. Open that door, invite Him in now.