The Wedding Feast

I'm against sin. I'll kick it as long as I've got a foot, and I'll fight it as long as I've got a fist. I'll butt it as long as I've got a head. I'll bite it as long as I've got a tooth. And when I'm old and fistless and footless and toothless, I'll gum it till I go home to Glory and it goes home to perdition!  Billy Sunday

I read a story once about a woman who was asked to sing at a wedding.  This was not your typical wedding.  It was an elaborate affair with a reception to be held in a great hall.  There was a great staircase in the hall and a butler standing at the top of the staircase with a book in hand.  As each person reached the top of the staircase the butler would look at the names in the book and call out the person’s name once it was found in the book. 

The singer reached the top of the staircase and the butler looked through the list but could not find her name.  She protested that her name must be in the book because she was the singer for the wedding.  The butler said no her name was not listed so she was escorted out of the great hall.  When she thought back she remembered she had received an invitation to RSVP for the wedding but had not responded so there was not a place for her at the wedding feast. 

When I reflected on this story I started thinking about how this applies to our life on earth and what our destination will be when our life on earth is over.  Will our name be listed in the Lamb’s Book of Life? If we have all sinned and fall short then that sin separates us from relationship with the Father.  We won’t get into heaven by default and no one gets to the Father except through Christ.  (John 14:6)   

We would not be able to enter the gates of Heaven if Christ had not paid for our sin on the cross.  God loves us so much that he offered us a way back to him through His Son dying on the cross.  We are offered the gift of forgiveness and eternal life but we must choose to accept it.  When Christ rose from the grave he defeated sin on our behalf. 

We also need to remember that forgiveness is not automatic.  We must first recognize that we are sinners and then repent of those sins.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  (John 1:9)

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, when I read the verse that talks about how wide the gate is to destruction is scares me and makes me cling to You more than ever before.  The path to life is narrow and few will find it.  I praise You for providing a way back to You through your Son’s death on the cross.  When my name is called I want to be on the list.

Scripture:  “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because  narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  Matthew 7:13-14