Matthew 22:11-14 NIV
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.”
Okay, so this means if you don’t come to church dressed up real nice you should go to Hell.
Wellllll, not really. It’s not our outward appearance that God looks at…we all know He looks at our hearts.
Back when this was written, the Princes, Lords, Rich People of the eastern countries would honor their sons on the day of their weddings by inviting others to a lavish banquet. Now, it’s not an orgy, BUT as the guests (primarily men) arrived, the maidens would wash them, anoint them with oil and give them their choice of sometimes thousands of beautiful robes. This was a symbol of their riches and a way of being sure that the guests were ready for the celebrations, some of which would last for days. These robes were intricately embroidered, generally white and flowing and the feast was amazing with no expense spared.
Of course, this represents how the Lord presents us with the feast of His presence. He even gives His own righteousness to adorn ourselves with. Because Isaiah tells us that our own good works is like filthy rags in comparison to the work the Lord has already accomplished and simply asks us to put on. And remember, the Lord offers this banquet to WHOSEVER. That includes even child molester and ex-husbands.
In this text, for the party-goer to have own his own plain clothing, he would have had to come through a window or over a fence. He was showing disrespect to the host.
You know, as a little girl, we were very, very poor and lived out in the country. On Saturday nights, my mom would put tubs out in the yard and fill them up from hoses and we four little girls would take a bath and wash our hair. Back in the olden days, there was no conditioner and I remember we would use vinegar to rinse out the shampoo. We’d rinse till our hair would squeak. Then my mom would roll our hair up in bobby pins b/c back then that was about all we had. I’d ask her why we would spend this one time being so much more fancy that all the other days and she would tell us that the next day was Sunday. She’d sing a song maybe some of you guys have heard, called, “Give of your best to the Master.” It always put a sense in me of keeping the Holy things, Holy.
I recall too how David when he was going to bring the ark back to Jerusalem wanted to buy the Threshing Floor where it had been kept. He offered the owner of the Threshing Floor money and the owner said, “No, no. Please take it. Don’t pay me!” But the words of David speak to me. He said, ‘I WILL NOT SACRIFICE TO THE LORD THAT WHICH COSTS ME NOTHING!” That is respect. That is keeping Holy things Holy.
Well, what about it. I know that sometimes I have my check list that I diligently check off: devotional, check, prayer, check, bible reading, check, tithe, check (no really, my tithe really is a check). But none of those things inconveniences me…none of those things are a real sacrifice. So, I’ve been trying to find ways to show the Lord that He is more than a checklist to me.
When we are in love, we LOOK for opportunities to spend time with the one we love. We look for ways to sacrifice or inconvenience ourselves. Maybe buy something we can’t really afford to give them. Even if we hate squash and he loves squash – we cook the squash! Maybe she has a flat tire and you HURRY over to change it…not at all minding the effort. And it gives us pleasure to do it. We don’t say, “Okay, I’ve spoken to my love twice, I ate dinner with him, so…I’m good.” Your romance would be short-lived if we loved someone by checking off a list of things we are expected to do every day like a robot.
So I’ve been trying to find ways to not just check off my checklist with Jesus. If I’m in a hurry and wanting to beat the traffic, I’ve started telling the Lord, “You know what? I’m going to sit here a couple of minutes and just love you…not DOING anything else. Just sitting and letting you know that I want to treasure you.”
When I first wake in the morning I’ve started just saying, “Lord I want to notice you today…all day. Help me to notice you.” And He does.
You know my friends and I sometimes drive the 13 hours down to Marco Island for a free beach condo. And we yak the entire 13 hours driving there, we yak the entire 4-5 days we are there, and we yak the entire 13 hour drive back. Why? Because we ENJOY each others’ presence. There’s never a loss for one more thing to talk about.
We need to realize the Lord wants to hear us too. He is our friend. I think my prayers where I’m giving him my needs, “Heal my back, help my car to not break down, etc.” are fine but I think a FRIEND wants to hear us and know us. If you were in my car and all I did was tell you my needs, I think you’d probably ask me to drop you off at the next corner. The fact is if we were to talk to the Lord all the time, like we’d talk to a friend that was there with us, it would be impossible to ever be lonely. Why? Because we are aware there is a friend with us – and not some formal, judgmental, non-fun friend. My best prayers today were, “YIKES, Jesus…look at my hair”. That’s how I would talk to a friend standing there at the bathroom mirror with me. Or “Jesus, help me not to murder that dog that won’t stop barking!” He answered that one. Still barking but dog still living.
Asking Him to help me notice Him and notice that He’s there is something I have to do because at the end of every day I realize I’ve spent so much time NOT doing just that. But I’m working on it.
So, in conclusion, let me challenge you to find ways to:
1. Notice Him
2. Inconvenience yourself for Him and
3. Sacrifice for Him.
It will bring you joy unspeakable and full of glory!