Matthew 22:1-14 NLT
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.”
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
This is a scary thought for me…
In another parable that Jesus teaches, He speaks of the wheat and the tares growing together, but at the time of the harvest, the tares will be separated and thrown into the fire.
I think this illustrates the same message because the man not dressed in the “proper clothes” was removed, bound, and cast into outer darkness, separated from God forever.
How can we know that we are wearing the “proper clothes”?
I like to look at the fruit of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
There is only one way to experience the fruit listed above, and that is only by the Holy Spirit working in our lives.
For me personally, I keep this list in front of me often, and this is what I measure my heart against.
If I find that I struggle in any of these areas, I know that there is unresolved sin in my heart, and I bring before the throne of God and lay it at the feet of Jesus.
This is hard for me because my natural inclination is that I want my circumstances or the person I’m struggling with to change.
As soon as I recognize this going on in my mind, I know I have a heart posture that is not right, and I start asking God to point out the unresolved sin in my life.
I am starting to understand that everything outside of me and what is going on inside of me is under the control of God, that He is exact, sovereign, and that nothing will ever escape His justice.
He knew me, and everything that I would do before anything that we know about was created that He loved me enough to send Jesus into this world to die for my sins, knowing full well that I could never pay for my own sins. All He wants is my willingness to worship Him for who He is and what He has done.
John 3:16 NLT
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Heavenly Father, I love You and I thank You for everything. Amen!! 🙏❤️
