If at First You Get Ignored …

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The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. – Matthew 22:2

It’s been a while since I’ve written about any dreams I’ve had. Frankly, I don’t remember many since I started praying I’d only remember the important ones and forget the meaningless ones. (My mind has enough clutter, thank you.)

But recently I had a dream that was vivid and, I believe, significant for believers today.

Maybe it was because the holidays are approaching, but I dreamt about a gathering of people. Women were bustling around the kitchen, while some teenagers sat around a table playing a board game. (I assume the men were in the den watching sports.) I was heading outside to take some chicken off the grill and bring it inside.

The chicken glistened with juiciness and barbecue sauce, and I knew it was going to be delicious. Just as I got the last piece onto the platter, my daughter’s big dog, Irma, leapt at me, nearly knocking me down and snatching the biggest piece of chicken.

I was annoyed, but also concerned for Irma. I’ve had dogs all my life and know you don’t give chicken bones to dogs, as they splinter and can pierce the dog’s insides.

“Hey, I need some help here!” I yelled, as Irma continued to jump on me, threatening to spill the whole platter of poultry. I could see the kids still playing their board game, seemingly oblivious to what was going on outside. I tried to balance the platter while pushing the pooch away from me and continued to call for help. Since the kids didn’t seem to care what was going on outside, I yelled louder, hoping the women in the kitchen would hear, before their entire dinner got dumped in the dirt.

Dreams are strange. Sometimes you know things without seeing or hearing them. Somehow I knew someone inside was rolling their eyes and saying, She’s OK, she just wants attention.

This isn’t just for me, it’s for them, too! And I’m worried about Irma! I thought, indignant.

Ignore her, they were saying.

I was being deliberately ignored!?

With renewed energy, I pushed my way past the dog and into the house. I chastised the kids who had turned a deaf ear to my cries for help – not just for my sake but for the sake of the dog swallowing the razor-sharp bone fragments, not to mention anyone else interested in the feast I was bringing to the table!

“Did you not hear me yelling for help?!” I demanded. To my utter astonishment, they still didn’t look up from their game. Nor did any of the women come out of the kitchen to see what was going on.

“Fine!” I announced, dropping the platter onto the table. “I’m done.” And with that I walked away. I was only mildly surprised when no one followed or even called out after me.

At another house it was Christmastime! I felt welcome here and went right in. Once inside I could see snow at every window, a fire in the fireplace, and bright colored decorations sparkling everywhere. I could hear Christmas carols and children’s laughter. In the kitchen some kids were decorating sugar cookies, and in the den some more were watching the last minutes of a Christmas special. I recognized it as one of my favorites, and I feigned disappointment.

“Aw, you didn’t wait for me?” I fake pouted.

“It’s OK,” said my granddaughter, Charlotte, jumping up and taking my arm. “We’ll watch it again later, and you can watch it with us then.” I was invited to join them in any and all of their Christmas activities, and I experienced a deep joy, as I felt like a little kid myself.

[I woke up with a smile on my face.]

Amazingly, Jesus taught that the sin of apathy is as damning as what we call the “big sins” – murder, adultery, and the like. He told a parable of a king who gave a great wedding feast for his son, but oddly the invitees refused to come. So, the snubbed king sent his servants out to gather others off the street until his banquet hall was filled. Those who had ignored the original invitation were left in outer darkness. – Their loss.

Many people behave that way today. We share the way to eternal life; some accept the message joyfully, others reject the invitation. Some even seem annoyed, as though we were asking them to do us a favor – not realizing that it is for their sake that we’re trying to point the way. Many simply ignore us.

But these responses (or lack of) are no reason to give up sharing the Gospel! While some may not seem interested in avoiding damnation and living forever with God, there are plenty, like my granddaughter Charlotte, who are very eager to hear your good news. Childlike at heart, they are far different from those who consider themselves too cool to talk with you about such things.

If you’re like me, you have spent a lot of time praying for and witnessing to certain people you care about very much. You reason with them, you invite them, and you warn them. Their lack of response can be draining, and downright discouraging.

You may need a break. You may need to leave those people to God, knowing there are others who have been waiting for someone to give them hope. You just might find that the moment you’re about to give up, the Lord puts people in your path who are only too happy to invite you into their lives and hear your good news.

Jesus gave us the Great Commission – share the Good News. Especially now. Time is short.

P.S. If you’re wondering, What is this “good news?” here are a couple of my past posts that explain it:

“Be-(or “Not Be-)Attitudes” – The Road to True Happiness
The “Be (or “Not Be-) Attitudes – the Road to True Happiness, Part 2

If you’d like to discuss this offer of eternal life further, please feel free to email me at bascha3870@yahoo.com. I would love to hear from you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive us for the times we’ve ignored Your invitations. We know we’re the ones who get hurt when we pass up the chance to be with You. Open our eyes to Your will for us. Then use us to open the eyes of others to the wonder of Your salvation. Help us never to give up. In Your name, Amen.

Published by seekingdivineperspective

I am a forgiven sinner and adopted child of God, seeking to see life from His perspective - as opposed to the world's flawed perspective - and living my life accordingly.

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33 thoughts on “If at First You Get Ignored …”

  5. This made me think about how I need to appreciate my wife, my mom and all those who prepare food especially during the holiday season, I can get caught up talking to people…love how you turned this around for the Gospel to be shared!

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  6. My dreams very rarely make any sense–that’s probably why I very rarely remember them for more than a couple minutes! My wife recently had a wonderful opportunity to answer some significant questions of a nine-year-old who’s the son of good friends of ours; I confess, I was a little envious of her, but I had to keep my focus on the road as I was driving eight of us on a road trip. As you wrote, “The Lord puts people in your path who are only too happy to invite you into their lives and hear your good news.”

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  7. Beautiful! That second part is a dream come true…so thankful for His warm welcome and fellowship with other believers!
    “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” Luke 10:2
    May we have the mind and heart to share His story graciously!

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    1. Warm welcomes are a blessing from anyone, Alicia, and yes, it was one of those too-good-to-be-true scenarios. I’m not sure all the people in the second place were believers, just children – or childlike people. ❤ The only one I recognized was my granddaughter Charlotte, the one who is always asking me questions about God. She's a believer, but she wants to grow, and she wants to share the gospel with everyone! 🙂 ❤

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  8. Such a vivid dream, Annie, that actually made sense! Most of mine are a mishmash of short scenes that don’t even relate to one another. With you I pray for loved ones to come to Jesus or return to Him. I thank Him for continually knocking at their heart’s door, for bringing Christians into their lives to show them the way, for providing things for them to see, hear, and read that will draw their attention to Christ, and for turning their hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. I agree with you, Annie. We do have to be careful not to say too much or do too much, causing more harm than good.

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  9. Nancy, most of my dreams are a mishmash, too, that’s why I started to ask God to let me forget the nonsensical ones. (When I kept a dream diary, I spent more mental energy on my dreams than my waking hours.🙄)
    I pray you see the answers to your prayers for your loved ones – let’s not give up!
    Blessings,
    Annie

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  13. What an interesting dream and how well it applies to the sharing of the gospel. I have faced the discouragement that comes of being ignored. I have also seen the joy of someone come back years down the road to let me know they remembered what I had shared about Jesus and come to know Him. We just never know. Ours is to extend His truth in love. The results are in His hands. 🙂

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    2. By the way, Goldie, I enjoyed your article on “?Random Raiders!” But I couldn’t find a like button or a place to comment. Often I have to go back to the first page to find them, and half the time I have to “like” it twice to get my name on the “like list.” But I’m unable to like or comment on your posts. Am I only able to do it when I get an email notification and read it right then?

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      1. Hmmm…. that’s a weird one. I just opened it up and see that the Like button is visible and usable. So is the comment section. Plenty of people have done either or both, so I’m not sure why you’re having trouble.

        I know that when I receive a notification (like a comment) and I hit the star to like it, it goes back to gray a second after a click on it, so I often end up hitting it twice to make it work. But, I noticed that if I only do it once and then hit send, then the star illuminates anyway. So, I think it’s WP technology playing tricks on us at times.

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