Come to the Party!

"For many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14

I've read this verse before but never really understood its meaning. It comes at the end of a parable Jesus told about a wedding feast. The story stood out in my Bible reading this morning because it was 20 years ago tomorrow, Feb, 8, 1994, when Tim proposed and we began to plan our own wedding. As I read the passage, I wondered why this verse about being called and chosen was Jesus's conclusion to a parable about a wedding. 

The story is about a king who planned a wedding feast  for his son and invited many guests. All of those invited were too busy with "farms or businesses" and ignored the invitation. Some even killed the messengers who came to remind them of the feast.  This enraged the king who then sent his servants into the streets to welcome any and everyone "good or bad" to the party. When the king came in to look over all the dinner guests, he found one individual not wearing wedding attire. He had this man tied up and thrown "into the outer darkness, in that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And then Jesus concludes by saying, "For many are called, but few are chosen".

Seems a little harsh, right?  I mean, of course someone there might have been a little under dressed. These were people off the street, probably without much clothing at all, let alone a suit for a wedding. God used a cross reference verse of this passage, however, (Revelation 7:14) to explain to me the significance of the clothing,  "...they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." The clothing these dinner guests wore was symbolic of what happens when we accept God's invitation to His wedding feast (heaven). As when we accept Christ and receive clean robes, this clothing the dinner guests were wearing had been given to them by the king when they responded to the invitation to come to his party. And did you notice how the invitation was not only to the "good" people but  rather the "good and bad". Now that's good news! We don't have to have it all together to respond to His invitation to come to the party. But we do have to respond. They had to make a choice to leave their farms and businesses (worldly endeavors) and accept his invitation in order to be given the proper attire for the party. After all of this, Jesus ends with, "For many are called, but few are chosen." This story is about salvation, life after death. God offers the invitation to everyone "many are called". Few, however, respond and are therefore "chosen" to come to the wedding feast with Him in heaven.

Oh, praise God that I'm chosen. I get to go to that party. I want you to come too! Have you accepted His invitation? It goes out to everyone. We just have to accept it, making Christ Jesus Lord of our lives and placing everything else (farms, businesses, jobs, money, vacations, even family members) second to Him. I'll never forget the song our church was singing the night I made the decision to accept His invitation and be one of the chosen. It came to mind yesterday, before reading this parable. I looked up the words this morning and of course they seem to fit perfectly with the message in Matthew 22. I hope the words encourage you today as they have me.

Just As I Am,
text by Charlotte Elliott, music by William Bradbury

Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
sight, riches healing of the mind,
yea, all I need in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve
because they promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thy love unknown
hath broken every barrier down;
now to be thine, yea thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.