INVITED BUT NOT CHOSEN
While man readily embraces his life here on earth as a journey, it is often hard to consider the ongoing journey to a destination beyond the grave. It is hard because what lies beyond the grave is unseen and belief in such a reality requires faith. However it is also true that without a destination beyond the grave, life here on earth becomes the most meaningless exercise there is. Jesus talks of that eternal destination as the kingdom of heaven and uses an interesting story to teach how to get there.
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “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.——–“they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ———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.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”(Matthew 22:1-14)
God is likened here to the generous king who invites and reminds the invited guests to attend the wedding banquet. While there is a choice involved, it is also a command from the king to his subjects. When God asks man to follow him, it is the requirement of the creator God asking his creation to do his bidding. However, man has a choice, which more often than not ends up with him abusing that choice to reject God. The subjects of the kingdom forget that the invitation is from their king, get busy with their daily lives and some even surprisingly go to the extreme act of killing the king’s servants. Elsewhere Jesus draws the parallel with the historic Israel, despite being the chosen nation, rejecting God and killing his prophets.
The gospel goes out into the rest of the world after the coming of Jesus and all are now invited to join the wedding banquet. Not only so, God also provides man with the means toward the righteousness required (wedding clothes in this story) to be able to stand before God. Many receive the word of God and the wedding banquet hall is filled. However, the careless man who is found without the wedding clothes is bound and thrown out of the party. When the gospel is received, man is asked to embark on a journey of increasing in righteousness. While man cannot do this on his own, God’s Spirit is granted to man to help him accomplish this. When Christians or churches as a whole are careless to ignore this requirement, which is in fact a form of rejection of God (again a choice by man), they come face to face with the righteous wrath of God. The man without the wedding clothes was speechless before God and those who mistreated God’s messengers were destroyed.
The loving invitation of God goes out to many. Receiving the invitation brings the reception of God, rejecting the invitation brings the wrath of God. Many are invited, few are chosen, the destination awaits.
