Matthew 22:8-14 (NLT)
And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ 10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. 13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
I long for the day I get to feast at our Father's table. What a glorious day it will be when the doors to Heaven swing open at the formal announcement and worldwide ceremony of our returning King. A union that is millenniums in the making, yet in the grand scheme of eternity is not even a millisecond of our forever existence. A long-awaited smile and hug from The One who gave His life to hold our hand. An eternal marriage where divorce and separation have no existence after being cast, along with our sins, as far as the East is from the West. There will be a celebration like no one has ever seen! It will truly be the event of not only a lifetime, but the event of all lifetimes! The call goes out to "many" but most of the invitations will be "ignored" (Matthew 22:5).
While reading this, I saw something I previously never noticed. Verse 10 says they went into the streets (the world) and "brought in everyone they could find, the good and the bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests." I first thought to myself, "That's interesting. Good people and bad people are all going to the party?" But as I thought about it more, our entrance into Heaven isn't based on our goodness. Our entrance to Heaven is based on our acceptance of His forgiveness! I will never be good enough to enter into Heaven.
That's when it hit me. In the next verse, the King comes and sees the man who isn't "wearing proper clothes". The good and the bad were there not because of what they did, they were there because of what they wore! They wore the robe of Righteousness! The garments of sin, were cast aside and they put on the "clean" attire prepared for them and hand tailored by no one other than Christ Jesus, our Risen King! I wonder if the tag inside their clothes said "made with 100% love, created at the cross, sewn by hand, and knitted with nails."
Father,
Thank You for Your unfailing love! Jesus, thank You for dying for us, cleansing us, and covering us in Your righteousness! We long for the day we get to walk beside You and see You face to face! We love You Lord! Amen.
And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ 10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. 13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
I long for the day I get to feast at our Father's table. What a glorious day it will be when the doors to Heaven swing open at the formal announcement and worldwide ceremony of our returning King. A union that is millenniums in the making, yet in the grand scheme of eternity is not even a millisecond of our forever existence. A long-awaited smile and hug from The One who gave His life to hold our hand. An eternal marriage where divorce and separation have no existence after being cast, along with our sins, as far as the East is from the West. There will be a celebration like no one has ever seen! It will truly be the event of not only a lifetime, but the event of all lifetimes! The call goes out to "many" but most of the invitations will be "ignored" (Matthew 22:5).
While reading this, I saw something I previously never noticed. Verse 10 says they went into the streets (the world) and "brought in everyone they could find, the good and the bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests." I first thought to myself, "That's interesting. Good people and bad people are all going to the party?" But as I thought about it more, our entrance into Heaven isn't based on our goodness. Our entrance to Heaven is based on our acceptance of His forgiveness! I will never be good enough to enter into Heaven.
That's when it hit me. In the next verse, the King comes and sees the man who isn't "wearing proper clothes". The good and the bad were there not because of what they did, they were there because of what they wore! They wore the robe of Righteousness! The garments of sin, were cast aside and they put on the "clean" attire prepared for them and hand tailored by no one other than Christ Jesus, our Risen King! I wonder if the tag inside their clothes said "made with 100% love, created at the cross, sewn by hand, and knitted with nails."
Father,
Thank You for Your unfailing love! Jesus, thank You for dying for us, cleansing us, and covering us in Your righteousness! We long for the day we get to walk beside You and see You face to face! We love You Lord! Amen.