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November 4th

The bible reading today is in Matthew 22 and Mark 12.

“And again Jesus spoke to them in parables at the Passover Feast, saying,“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son...Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good.

So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.

Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

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Matthew‬ ‭22:1-2, 8, 10-14‬ ‭

Jesus taught and preached the gospel...the good news of the kingdom of heaven...a kingdom that changes everything...beginning with the heart of a person.

Jesus told a parable about the distinctiveness of the kingdom of God. Let’s look at it...The king threw a wedding party for his son and his son’s bride. It was a glorious occasion. And it would have been a privilege to have been on the guest list. But amazingly, many who received an invitation refused the call to the palace.

I see me in this story as I think back to my teenage years. I knew that there was a god in heaven. I had been in church a good many times. I had heard the good news of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus as taught in the bible. I believed it was true.

For years I had heard the call to follow Jesus. But like many in the story, I refused and made up excuses for my rejection of the invitation.

I remember sitting on a pew in Fairway Baptist Church in Wichita Falls Texas along with some Sr High School friends. Many times I was strangely affected by the preaching. I calmed myself down by making whispered promises to God and myself that I would try to be a better person.

Then one-night several years later in my dorm room...something like the man without a wedding garment happened to me. The king came looking.

From a gospel tract that I was reading, the Spirit of Jesus looked at me...looked into my heart...and immediately I was found out. I was a fraud...a religious pretender at best...at the wedding party...different than all the rest.

I had no wedding garment...I did not have Christ. I did not have Christ covering me with his garment of grace and mercy. His garment of forgiveness and peace. His garment of righteousness and the promise of eternal life.

Unlike the man in the story who was found out, apparently, I was more than just one of the many “called” to the kingdom of heaven in Christ. “I was one of the chosen”. Yes, I chose Christ, but only after He chose me! How awesome is that, fellow believer?

I wasn't better than anyone else. I wasn't more worthy of the kingdom than others. I was just chosen by Him to be saved by his grace...for his honor and his glory.

How many times did I enter the church house knowing that I was neglecting the wedding garment of Christ? I've wondered if I was the only one there among the churchgoers that lacked the mark of the disciple...the garment grace and salvation... probably not.

I’m just grateful that I was one that was given the garment of repentance and faith in Jesus to follow him and serve him in the power of the Spirit these 50 years.

Oh yes, the kingdom of heaven is like a party. S party, thrown by Our King, for all kinds of sinners...just like you and me.

Have a great day