The Parable of the Inn

The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to an inn, where the owner is the chef and the Doorkeeper is the Son of the owner.

There are many rooms in that inn and the guests can stay and go as they please. And the servants can also stay and go as they please; but only those who are the Sons of the owners will remain. Everyone has a chance to be a Son. And many come to the door and ask: “Can I go in?” But only those who recognize the Doorkeeper shall be let in.

The Chef has chosen His Son to represent Him and His work, for a true son will be a living testimony of his father’s work. Likewise he is a true witness to the inn’s quality. Those then who recognize the true Son are those who seek the true quality of the inn, for in Him these will be evidenced.

Indeed, how good is it that a guest come in and bring food from another place and not eat of the food prepared for him? How good is it that a guest stays in, while his heart is set onto another place? For surely he will not be able to appreciate what is given.

And how good is it that a servant may spend many years in service but his heart was never set onto his master’s interests? For surely at the end, he will walk away and never return neither as a guest nor as a son.

For the chef always treats the guests and the servants as his sons, but only those whose heart is set also onto what is provided will remain.

Many will come back and say: “ Doorkeeper, we have eaten here many times, we have stayed here many times and we have served many years, please let us in so we may partake once more our inheritance”; and the Doorkeeper will say: “ Away beggars! For when you were in, you stole and destroyed what was given freely to you to enjoy, keep, and make your own.”

And they will say: “But master we have sent so many guests to you and advertise your place everywhere we went!” And the Doorkeeper will say: “Do not come here anymore, for it is you whom you have promoted; and you have charged fees and other duties on what was set before you as a gift, you have sold your portion and your VIP cards, and you have used my Father’s reputation to make yourself great amongst many, but here you are not known as the sons, for the true Sons would be known by their testimonies and not by their works. No one can be in two places at the same time.”

And many will be left in the streets. But those who will be faithful in their heart shall be called Sons and be let in. The Sons shall take interests of the Father at heart and not their own. For the inn cannot be run by strangers whose focus is not on the tasks at hand and whose heart is not in the service of the master.

Neither can a guest be a guest just by walking through the door: can anyone claim being a guest if he has not tasted the food nor tried the bed and spent a night? Many claim they know the way to the inn and know the Doorkeeper, but only those who have tasted the food and spent a night will know what is provided. For who goes into an inn not to taste the food or spend a night? Only these who are hungry, thirsty, and tired will appreciate their stay and proclaim the greatness of the inn.

And can a servant be a true servant if he doesn’t have his master’s interests at heart? For surely he will slack in service, steal, break and destroy his master’s property, and will hide the pieces and blame a stranger. But a true servant, even as he breaks only a cup, will ask for forgiveness; and his master will forgive because the servant was honest and true to his master; and the master will know the servant can be trusted, for even a small mistake did he report, and his own faith and trust in his master’s greatness of heart earned him his redemption.

In the end, when the inn will cease to be an inn and will turn into a retirement home, all the guests  and the servants will be invited as permanent residents. But only those whose patronage and service will have been truthful will be let in. Those will be called the Sons and Daughters for they will be in the house forever and will be loved and cherished by the chef as they love and cherish Him as their Father, and the Doorkeeper will let them in and the Doorkeeper will be their brother.

There are those who will insult the Doorkeeper, they will mock him and try to kill him; but even among those, any who praises the hospitality of the inn, even as they may despise the Doorkeeper, they will be let in, for the inn quenches and provide rests for the weary who appreciate the service. In the end they will become brothers to the Son and will love him, for they will see that His service was true as theirs is.

But those who despise the food and criticize the bedding, even as they love the Son, they will not be let back in, for the chef is proud of his services and so is the Son proud of his Father’s services; and even though they both love and cherish anyone who loves them, there will be no place for the guest who is not satisfied nor the servant who is not happy. They will be invited to seek somewhere else. For only he who is happy and satisfied with the inn’s service will want to stay anyway.

Be ready, for the doors of the inn are opened, but when they will finally close, do not get caught outside in the bitter cold and the scorching sun for surely you will die. Taste and seek the food of the Spirit and the rest unto it, for the kingdom is a spiritual inn that will quench and fill you more than you can handle.

Proverbs 17:2
A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son, and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

Psalm 127:3
Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.