Early in my ministry career, I was the youth pastor and worship leader at Emmett Street Missionary Church in Battle Creek, Michigan. At my first meeting with the teens, there were five students there, two or which were the pastor’s kids. By God’s grace and with an effective team of adult sponsors, the group grew to about thirty students. When we gained some strength through numbers, we decided to host an outreach event for our entire community.
I contacted several other churches in the area, and many of those got on board. We planned an all-day Saturday event with games, food, music, and a speaker. We pooled the resources of our various churches and hired a band from outside our community and secured a well-known youth speaker from Lansing. We spent weeks planning every detail. The teens from each church were provided with promotional materials to distribute to the seven different high schools our churches served. We also posted invitations in the local paper as well as flyers posted around the city. Our best guess was that we would have between 400 to 500 students at the event.
As the day arrived, the youth workers gathered for prayer ahead of the event. Finally, the time for things to start arrived. A couple of kids arrived early but by the time of the official start, only six students were in the building. Three of them from my group. We began to think because it was a long event, most were planning to come later. However, after the first hour passed and we still only had six kids, we knew we were in trouble. That was all that ever showed up. It was one of the most disappointing and stressful days of my ministry.
We were not the only ones to offer an outstanding event that is ignored by those invited. Jesus died to provide the best party ever that is going to last for eternity. The invitation is sent out to everyone through the proclamation of his Gospel message. However, most people reject it. We see a vivid picture of this in a parable told by Jesus in Matthew 22. He speaks of a king who planned a wedding feast for his son. He included the best of everything in the preparations. His servants were then sent out to bring the guests in. Unfortunately, those invited ignored the servants because they were too busy with their businesses and farms. In fact, some became so incensed by the invitation of the servants that they mistreated and even killed some of them.
When hearing this, the King sent his servants to bring in those who were least deserving but understood the grace of the King in making the invitation. He filled his banquet hall and celebrated with them. Those who were not wearing the propre wedding clothes were cast out.
The King is Jesus, and the wedding feast is the offer of salvation and an eternity in heaven. Those who ignore the invitation lose the opportunity to enter. But for those who come, they are allowed to fully enjoy the banquet even though they did not deserve to be there. The wedding clothes represent the acceptance of the Gospel by faith in Jesus. Jesus tells of some who try to get in because they think they deserve to be there on their own merit. However, those are cast out into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus has provided the opportunity for each of us to accept his invitation to feast with him for all eternity. He has done all the work; we simply need to accept the offer. When we recognize our sin and confess that before the Lord with a heart of repentance, we are ushered into the banquet and given a seat of honor. We must be careful not to let this life keep us so busy and distracted that we miss the call to come.