Think about this. What if you invited a lot of people to a wedding banquet and they repeatedly refused you invitation would you be upset, hurt, what about disappointed? If you said, "yes," then you empathize with Jesus. When we refuse to respond to our Lords request for us to come sit with Him, pray, or read His word, we are rebelling, and disappointing him repeatedly.
If you have a moment, would you read the parable of the king and the wedding banquet.
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 22: 1-14 NIV
You may have read this story before, but try to understand what Jesus was trying to say. Many are invited, when you're invited its personal, but if you refuse then you don't deserve to be there.
Now, the second group was chosen, the bad, as well as the good. They all responded to the Kings request, except one. There was one without wedding cloths, and he was thrown out. Why? Well, those who wore the wedding cloths understood the request and took it very serious. God sees the heart of every man, woman, girl and boy. He sees the one that is playing around and trying to please everyone, but the King. You don't belong in here! How have you gotten by this far pretending to be someone you are not?
And above all insults you're SPEECHLESS. God demands a response, don't blow him off. Yes, he called you friend because he loves you, but don't treat Him like a nobody. Don't treat the invitation like its NO BIG DEAL.
Heaven is a HUGE DEAL, and all those who will be there will be the ones who deserve to be there. They were chosen, and they responded to such a gracious God who has laid out everything for us.
Today, will you respond to Him? Don't be like the first group, or the speechless man.
Victoria Ruth Taylor
