Dress For The Party

Jesus also told them other parables. He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come! “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them. “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. 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.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.” [Matthew 22.1-14]

What I take from this story today is that we are not waiting for God's Kingdom, but instead, God's Kingdom is waiting for us. The invitations stands. All the preparations have been made. Everything is indeed ready.

However, there is a requirement to attend the event: the right clothing.

The pictures drawn by this story Jesus told are amazing and compelling!

Jesus revealed to the world that the Kingdom has been prepared and the invitation stands. Jesus freely demonstrated the abundance and blessings at the disposal of faith. But many ignored and even worse argued against the Kingdom as Jesus presented it.

It is here I think Jesus switched from "present" to "future" when speaking about the Kingdom of God. When Jesus mentioned the man found not dressed in wedding clothes, I see that as the Church today. Many still 'come to the party' of Church, but are 'not dressed' for the event. In other words, they are not prepared for the celebratory abundance and blessings of the event. They come on their own terms (their "clothing") instead of the terms of the wedding host ("party clothes"). It's like they were invited to dance but refused to wear their dancing shoes. People today attend Church where forgiveness of sins is to manifest in miracles and healing, but they refuse to partake. Instead, they fold their arms and sit in the corner, and, like the man in Jesus' story, have no good reply when asked why they are even there.

Father, may my life reveal that I am "dressed for the party" of Your Kingdom! May YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN! May I not be found in the "street clothes" of science, medicine, and worldly reason, but instead be found wearing the garments of praise showing I live by Your Kingdom principles above the worldly limitations of science, medicine and worldly reason!