There is a man who has lived in Ossian (as I do) with the same name as mine. When I first met him, he was the athletic director at Norwell High School. Over the years, our paths have crossed in a variety of ways. When people called directory assistance and asked for Mike Gilbert, my name came up first and I often got phone calls intended for him. Once, I even received a call from the Fort Wayne Newspaper wanting a comment about the Norwell Football Team. Mike and I spent the most time together when I had the privilege of performing the wedding ceremony for his daughter, Beth.
But our original meeting was far less dramatic. It came about when Cindy and I received a wedding invitation in the mail but had no idea who the couple was who had invited us. After some thought, we guessed the invitation was intended for the other Mr. and Mrs. Mike Gilbert. We found their address and took the card to them. This same scenario has occurred many times over the past several years.
Have you ever received an invitation that you didn’t know what to do with? It may have been sent to the wrong address, or it was from someone you didn’t know well and couldn’t make the connection. We also may receive invitations with a full understanding of their purpose, but with little or no desire to accept. But one thing is true each time we receive an invitation, we must make a choice as to what we will do with it.
In describing the Kingdom of God in which we live as men following our Lord, Jesus used the illustration of an invitation in Matthew 22:2-14. In verses 2-3 he says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. Who would ever want to refuse such an opportunity, a banquet hosted by the King? What a great honor. However, they did not simply refuse the invitation but abused and even killed the messengers delivering it. In his frustration, the King instructed his servants to simply go out and find people who would accept this amazing offer to attend the wedding banquet of his son.
The interpretation is straightforward. The King is God and his son, of course, is Jesus. The invitation to the wedding feast is God’s call on our lives to accept the gift of salvation. The messengers who were mistreated and killed represent you and I who take the Good News of Jesus to people lost in sin. The ones who ultimately enjoy the banquet are people who accept the offer of salvation and enjoy an eternity in heaven.
The application for you and me is sobering. There are those who hear the truth of Jesus but refuse to accept it. As I asked before, who would ever want to refuse an opportunity offered by the King of Kings to spend eternity at his banquet table. For some, they are unwilling to submit to the Lordship of Christ and give up their own selfishness and pride. Others are simply too busy or involved in life to consider the amazing benefits of the offer being made.
For a moment, we must turn from questioning the motives of others and look at our own lives. Are we living as invited guests of the Almighty, or are we hoping to hang on to our own will and sneak into the banquet at the las minute? This is a dangerous game to play and one that does not honor God. Put on you best and enjoy the feast.