An Invitation

"Mom," said Tia when she arrived home from school. "You're not going to believe this!" "Believe what?" asked Mom. "Kayla took a babysitting job on the day of my party! You'd think she could turn down one job! And McKenna isn't coming either. Her family is going to the zoo, and McKenna wants to go along." Tia looked at her guest list and crossed off the names Kayla and McKenna. The next day, Tia was unhappy again. "Catherine forgot her cousin's wedding is on the day of my party," she told her mother. "And Zella says she has to take care of her little sister." Tia slumped into a chair. "You can't have a party without any guests! I think I'm just gonna call the whole thing off." "Now, wait a minute!" Mom sat down next to her. "You've invited several other friends. Some of them are planning to come, right? They may have turned down other invitations so they can go to your party. It wouldn't be fair to them if you cancel." Tia thought it over. "Okay. Then I'm going to throw the best party ever for the people who decide to come!" On Sunday, Tia went to church with a friend who lived on her street. As she listened to the pastor speak, she was surprised by what she heard. "God offers each of us an invitation," he said. "He invites everyone to come to Him for forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins. But we can often be more interested in living for ourselves now than thinking about eternity." Tia had heard of Jesus dying on the cross, but she'd never thought of it as an invitation. She thought of her friends who had turned down her invitation to her birthday party. Had she refused God's invitation that had cost the life of His Son? "Even if we don't accept His invitation at first, God's offer still stands," the pastor continued. "He's always willing to receive those who change their minds and put their trust in Jesus." When the pastor ended his sermon with a prayer, Tia bowed her head and silently told God that she was ready to accept His invitation. –Nance E. Keyes