“But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. Matthew 22:11-12
As I sat going website to website trying to find something to wear for our daughter’s wedding. I was reminded of the parable of the wedding feast.
To paraphrase what the parable is about, a king gives a wedding feast for his son and he invites all of these guests. When it comes time for the feast the guests that he has invited all decline for various reasons, giving excuses for why they can’t be there. He then sends his servants and asks them to bring those who were invited. But the guests still won’t come. Again he sends his servants to beseech the guests to come and to explain to them that all the preparations have been made and it is now time. Some of the invited guests ignored the servants and went back to their work while others seized the servants and beat and killed them.
But he still has no guests. So he tells his servants that those invited were not worthy and sends them into the streets to invite anyone that they can find, “both the good and the bad.” and finally the banquet hall becomes full. But, when the king arrives he walks in to find a man not wearing wedding garments (keep in mind that the custom was such that the king would have provided the wedding garments for his guests). He asks the man how he was able to get in without the wedding garments on, but the man is speechless and does not respond. The king then has him bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness. In a place that is described to have weeping and gnashing of teeth (the way Jesus describes hell in the scriptures). And finally it is said “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13-14)
The King in this parable represents God and the Son is the Son. We are all invited to the wedding banquet, the question is will we reject the invitation to celebrate the Son? Will we make excuses? Will work be more important? Will we ignore and/or even want for the servants who are sent by God to come to death? And, if we do accept, will we reject the wedding garment (“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Romans 13:14)?.
Or, will we partake in the banquet and celebrate The Son with The King!
John 3:16 & 17 say “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
God desires and has invited us all to accept an invitation to believe in His Son for the redemption of our sins. (Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. John 3:36). His desire is that NONE should perish, that is why He devised a plan that would allow for our sins to be paid in full. It required the rejection, suffering and death of His one and only Son (Jesus Christ), on the cross, and that we would accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior.
So, what will you Wear to the Wedding?
I pray that today we would thank The King, that He would allow all to attend the wedding. And that we would thank Him that He would revealed His Son and the offer of redemption to us at all (it is not like we deserved it or were worthy). I pray that it would become so real and vivid a picture to us today that we would recognize that for those who are still in rejection and/or not wearing the wedding clothes, a future of gnashing of teeth awaits. Let that spurn us on to a bold sharing of the gospel. Let us be the servants that go into the streets and draw them in.
If you have rejected the servants of God and the gospel or just feel that you were never exposed to it or Him, I pray that you would accept this invitation from The King and that you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outline there. And once you’ve done that I pray that you would reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and allow me to pray for you and hopefully help you grow in your knowledge of and relationship with our Precious Savior, Jesus Christ.
Luv Ya,
