An RSVP is Required
Good Morning Friends,
You have been invited to the most important event ever but make sure you are ready to dress for success. In the parable of the wedding banquet
there is one serious dress code and don’t forget An RSVP is Required.
Scripture: And the angel said* to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God.’
Revelation 19:9 (NRSV)
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSV)
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Isaiah 64:6 (NRSV)
Message: Ok today’s scripture is about the rejection of the religious leaders of Jesus as the Messiah and the opening of a Kingdom possibility for the Gentiles. But today’s scripture is also really a question that asks us to consider about how we respond to God’s invitation to the life we have been given. It is born out of a story from a culture that drops everything to go to a wedding party. It is born out of culture that tried to control God.
Eugene Peterson answers the question it poses for us in this way: “We make the judgment on ourselves. God has invited us to come to him and has prepared a feast for us to share. And we take it lightly. We make excuses. Or we’re so far out of touch with reality that we actually scoff at or even destroy the messengers who deliver the invitation. God is the reality with whom we have to deal. Life is the banquet he has prepared. How many of our actions are a refusal to come to him and a rejection of his presence with us?”
Friends, what Peterson points out…what today’s scripture makes clear is that religion without Christ is rebellion! And those who seek to be saved by their religion or their churchiness and not Christ will ultimately be terribly disappointed. So don’t miss it. God loves you. He has prepared a banquet for you. You’re invited! But your RSVP is required.
So, if you want to feast at God’s table of grace you have to come on His terms not yours. You have to put on Christ. Do not come dressed up in your own good works. Our good works are nothing but filthy rags in His sight. Some people try coming to God’s table of grace all dressed up in their religion. But righteousness comes from God and we cannot establish it on our own. No, if you want to eat at God’s banquet and dine on His grace you must wear the wedding clothes He provides. You must put on Christ. Friends, the life God offers at His table of grace is amazing. The riches of His feast are magnificent beyond our wildest dreams. Do you really want to keep living outside the will of God? Come to Jesus. Let Him feed your soul. Respond to God. Put on Christ.
Pray that we accept the invitation to the wedding feast. Pray we respect the King. Pray we clothe ourselves in Christ’s robes of righteousness. Pray we not try to establish our own righteousness. Pray we realize that we cannot be saved by our works. Pray we have a wise fear of the Lord.
Pray we get to celebrate at a wedding feast that never ends. Pray we experience the abundance of the wedding feast. Pray we understand that there will never be lasting peace, joy, deliverance, life, blessing, happiness, purpose, direction, or victory until our selfish ways are laid on the altar and crucified. Pray we not refuse and reject Jesus. Pray we respond to the life we have been given with love.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 