Thursday 19 Aug 2021

August 19: Matthew 22:1-14
 
Key Verse: Matthew 22:12
He asked, “How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?” The man was speechless.
 
Devotion:
Have you ever tried to turn up to work in your pyjamas or to ball in shorts and t-shirt? I have not done either of those, but I can remember someone telling me I still had my slippers on when I had just started walking to school! If I had turned up for school in my slipper, I’m pretty sure I would have been told off and forced to go home and get my proper shoes on!
 
But, let's go back to the beginning of the parable where the king sent out invitations to some people for the wedding. These people all made excuses and would not turn up for the wedding. The king sent out more servants to invite more people who also made excuses and some even killed the servants who came to invite them! The king retaliated and burned the towns of those people.
 
When God sends out the invitation for us to go to Heaven, He does expect us to say yes and to come! If we make up an excuse and don’t turn up, we lose out! But if we start fighting or killing the messengers who are telling us about God’s invitation, then we are fighting directly with God! Then again, if we say yes to the invite but do nothing to change our lives or promote God in any way, we are like the person caught in the wrong clothes!
 
God may well be loving and merciful, but he is just and expects us to accept Him fully into our lives. If we say we will but do not accept Christ as our Saviour, then He will not be our Saviour and we will not get to be with Him in Heaven.
 
Points to Ponder:
Have you said yes to Christ being your Saviour?
 
Have you changed to show you have?