Hi Friends! Today I’m bringing you part two of the The King’s Table series.
Years ago I knew someone that threw a holiday party every year. And she had a policy with the guest list—once invited always invited. The guest list seemed to multiply every year, because no one was ever removed. And sometimes the location would change to accommodate the growing list, but the guest list was never restricted. This invite policy worked in my favor because it wasn’t until year three or four of being invited that I actually attended. I had certainly wanted to attend before and I had even made plans to attend one year. But my desires and intentions just never materialized for one reason another.
In Luke 14:16-24 Jesus tells a parable of a king that held a banquet. But all of the invited guests had other things to do and could not attend. When I finished reading this parable my first thought was, “Who gets an invitation to the king’s banquet and doesn’t go? What could be more important?” Then my very next thought provided the answer — “you do.”
The King’s table is a place of invitation. And I have been guilty of treating the invitation from The King like it was optional or insignificant, when it is in fact the most important invitation I could ever receive or accept. I am so grateful that God also extends a standing invitation. He doesn’t uninvite me when my priorities get out of whack. His invitation comes with a generous measure of graceingIn modern-day tradition only dignitaries are invited to the royal banquet. But our King isn’t afraid to break protocol or tradition. He invites us regardless of our background, pedigree, or status. The king in the parable went to the alleys and outskirts and extended the invitation. Similarly, there are no restrictions on who can come to the table God has prepared for us. It is impossible to crash this party. All are welcome.
However, we see that there is a dress code for the king’s table. Now this is the part of the story where I got concerned because I am notorious for wearing the wrong thing. For example, I once went to a bridal shower where the attire was black dresses, wearing white pants and a gold top (true story). But here is where there is relief even for a poorly dressed wretch like me. It was customary for the king to supply each guest with banquet clothes. That means all I have to do is put on what the King has generously given me. I don’t have to bear the burden of getting it right, because the King has already made provision for me and my struggles.
Isaiah 61:10 gives us a picture of how God invites and clothes his guests: “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
Friends, remember God’s invitation is this, “Just show up. Just bring yourself.” He has literally thought of everything. He has set the table, prepared the meal, and given you the garments of salvation and righteousness.
As always, if this message has been a blessing to you, then be a blessing to someone else by sharing it with them.
Living In The Light,