Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 20; Psalm 20; Matthew 22
Scripture: Matthew 22:8-13
8 "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 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, both good and bad, 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 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' 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.'"
Observation: Jesus tells this parable beginning with the phrase, "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son..." So we know immediately that the king is God the Father and his son is Jesus Christ the Son of God. Think of the grace that this story portrays. Almighty God throws a great party and we are invited! Of course, it takes a while until "everyone" actually gets invited because the "A List" people get invited first but they snub the king, refusing to come to the party. So the king sends "personal reminders," servants urging the guests to come. But the "A List" people still refuse. It is then that the party is opened up to everyone. They "gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad." That is how you and I made it to the party. But notice that some of the people in the party, one guy in particular, an individualist, still refused to comply -- he wouldn't wear the clothing provided. You see, everyone was given special clothes to wear (probably for the pictures), but this one fellow decided that he would come to the party on his terms.
Application: There are many people in God's Kingdom who won't submit to God. I believe that we all have rebellion in our hearts, some more and others less. And everybody has to deal with it in some fashion. Some people deal with it by calling it "a personality trait" or something like that. Then they allow their rebellion to define much of their thoughts, words, and actions. The fellow in the story probably felt pretty special, being the only one at the party who wasn't dressed in the party outfits. He probably thought that he was the only one with enough courage to express himself and not conform to the religious dictates of others. He may have even bragged about this individuality. But when the king angrily notices him and asks him why he isn't wearing the wedding clothes, "the man was speechless." So much for being an individualist! Rebellion can be dressed up in all sorts of creative ways, but it is still rebellion and will eventually be dealt with by the Lord.
Bottom line: I must surrender and submit to God. Why? Because He is God and I am not.
Prayer: Lord, help me to lay my life at Your feet and take it up in the way You direct. May we see our rebellion for what it is and get rid of it. Show us how to live humbly in ourselves and with great confidence in You.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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