"And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:10-14, ESV)
"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." (John 15:6, ESV)
"I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:15,16, ESV)
I cannot remember the first place it caught my eye. It may have been on some biker's helmet; one of those small stickers with the catchy, typically un-Biblical sayings. This guy must have been dealing with some issues with God, because two stickers, almost side by side, mentioned Jesus. The first one, "Jesus loves you, but everyone else thinks you're a jerk" (Only a more colorful word for jerk), besides the uncreative, vulgar language, wasn't all that offensive. The second one, though, highlighted the grasp of God this man possessed, yet he mocked Him. It read, "Jesus is coming, look busy."
If you did not (a) reject God, and (b) have some understanding of scripture, this would not be funny. Or, maybe I'm just not giving the guy enough credit. Perhaps it was a sharp criticism of the busyness of the Church, yet it's rejection of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Social action and service is a staple of a believer's life in Christ, but when the cost of service is the sacrifice of doctrine, it's time to reevaluate who you're serving.
If you know me, you know I'm no fan of 'herd mentality.' I was working on my facebook profile and it has a place for political views. Facebook really wants you to pick a political party so it can not just group you with like minded people, but target more advertising toward you. But I couldn't find "conservative, anti-isolationist and moralistic libertarian, with a social conscious, an interest in conservation, and a love for the constitution" as a political party so I just typed in "Undecided." I can often be cynical, questioning everything. Even 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, "but test everything; hold fast what is good." As a benefit of my instant reaction to doubt everything I am told, I can now hold firmly to and build my life on the fact that God is good, all the time.
And I've to test myself, too. "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves." (2 Corinthians 13:5a) Too often I dismiss the incredible gravity of God's grace when I've my feet beneath me. And when I don't, its weight humbles me, breaks me, and draws me to Him. It's in the tension between grace and obedience that I ask myself this question:
Bad or good, am I dressed for the feast, or just a wedding crasher?
2 comments:
I never have any idea where you're heading and am always pleasantly surprised at the end. Thought you might have posted since you were up so late...the date reads Thursday ...did you set a prepublish time stamp?
Sometimes I feel like I'm a wedding crasher, depending on what I'm rebelling against at the moment. Knowing I'm eternally secure often leads me to sin so His immeasurable grace abounds. I hate that! Forgive me, Lord. If Paul could've seen me in the future, he would not have called himself the chief of sinners. Well, maybe he would have, but only because he would not cast the first stone at me. I will just say it, "I'm the chief of sinners." God's grace is enough, thankfully. I just wish I would get it through my thick head that there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and OBEY!
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