Today’s Devotion
Topic: Don’t Stay The Way You Came In!
Text: Matthew 22:12
He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. Amen
One day, Jesus, speaking a parable to the people, said “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come”. (Matthew 22:1-3)
When, one by one, they all refused the offer, the King said to his servants, “Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” 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.
But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. 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.’ (Matthew 22:10-13)
Our journey with Christ is a priviledge. It is the grace which has appeared to all men that extended the invitation to us. Otherwise, we were considered gentiles with no hope of salvation. Besides that, we were also drowning in sin and misery, just as our adamic nature knows to do best.
The truth, however, to those of us who have responded positively to the invitation and given our lives to Christ, is that God does not expect that we remain as unclean as we were when we first received the invitation to become heirs and joint heirs with His Son.
God seeks that we be transformed by the renewing of our minds into the image of His son. For this, He gives us His Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and guide us into all truth. In Him is sufficient grace for our every weakness, so that even when we are weak, then we are strong. There will therefore be no excuse to remain as unclean and unready as you were before you met the King.
Do not be deceived; the king will surely come through – He is the host. This wedding banquet for His Son is also to your honour, because you do not deserve to be there, but for grace. He will therefore come through to identify all those who have not honoured Him ‘back’ by at least wearing’wedding clothes’ as the occasion requires. He will throw them out in darkness where there shall be gnashing of teeth.
Beloved, meditate upon this; assess your heart and begin to pray. Have you allowed the Holy Spirit to prepare you for the banquet and to put on you the garment of righteousness? Or you are deceived by the fact that you got invited and get to mingle with those who do without getting noticed? Repent now, seek forgiveness and allow the Holy Ghost into your heart. He will lead and guide you into all truth.
This unclean garment will then give way to appropriate wedding garments; where through prayer, fasting, Bible study and obedience, your life becomes a sweet fragrant offering that pleases the Lord. That way, you would have honoured the King who, out of mercy, invited you. That’s the way He wants it to be!
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