This past April I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend a conference called “Together For The Gospel” in Louisville, KY. It was a great conference with two of the most life changing messages I have ever been blessed enough to hear.

One of the things that stood out about that conference to me was the sound of 5,000 people singing with no instruments but a piano leading the way. It was an amazing sound and one that I can still hear in my head if I drown out everything and take myself back to that auditorium. One of the songs we sang during that conference was a song called “How Sweet And Awful Is The Place” and I came across a blog post by Thabiti today that highlighted that song.

As I listened to it, I was deeply affected by one of the stanzas in it that says:

–Why was I made to hear Thy voice
–And enter while there’s room
–When thousands make the wretched choice
–And rather starve than come?

–While all our hearts and all our songs
–Join to admire the feast
–Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,
–Lord, why was I a guest?

This was a theme of a conversation I had last night with friends after our vision meeting for Eternity. Do we really live those words? Do we really have that awe and wonder as to why we were chosen by God? Are we deeply affected when we look at those who are lost in their sin and blinded by their sin by the reality that we are only sons of God because he lifted the veil from our eyes? Does that deeply affect how we relate to lost sinners? Does that affect how we relate to brothers and sisters in Christ? Does that cause us to weep at the overwhelming mercy and grace of God?

Or do you think God owed it to you to let you hear His voice? Lord, why am I a guest? Ask yourself that question!