The Invitation

Why do we refuse things that we are told are good for us?

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so 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 a wedding robe, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, 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

The first thought when reading this is that I would surely respond to the invitation.  If God wants me to be part of His kingdom, I'm in.

But is that really how I would respond?  

It may depend on what I am thinking and doing at the time, or how I view the event I am invited to attend.

Jesus uses a wedding feast as the example of God's Kingdom, and that makes it sound like a joyous occasion.  It should be, right?

But what if I see it more like an invitation to change my life, to move, to do something that will be permanent?  Would I be so eager to accept?

It is clear from the guest who failed to dress properly that I can try to attend without showing proper resect to the King, and that would have dire consequences, so this invitation has some conditions I may not be ready for.

I need to be willing to be changed.

That's the key, and that's what keeps people away.

We get very accustomed to having things our own way, and we can even convince ourselves that it is God's will that we get what we want.

So, when God calls us to join Him, we may put Him off.

It is all up to us.

We have the ability to accept or not.

And if we don't, we shouldn't complain if we don't like the outcome.

More to come...