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Heart to Heart

    by Pat Chwialkowski

Are You Ready for the Wedding?
Date Posted: April 16, 2008

It’s that time of year again. It’s the season when most weddings take place. I have had the pleasure of attending three weddings in the past month. I have to admit to you I had to fight back the tears at each and every one of them. Isn’t it strange that at such joyous occasions, tears want to come? Well, I did pretty good fighting back the tears at all these weddings, but I can’t promise you the same at my own daughter’s wedding’s someday. My sister-in-law Val proved that point, as I tenderly watched her dab her tears during her son’s recent wedding. Let’s face it…weddings are emotional events. And when it’s your own child…well, let’s not go there.

I not only went to three weddings recently, but I’ve been reading about one also. Did you know that we are all invited to a very special wedding that is going to take place one day? Yep. And I have a feeling it too will be a very emotional event. How could it not be?

The Setting – Heaven

The Groom – Jesus

The Bride – Anyone who has put their faith in Him

However, unlike other weddings there will no spectators at this event, only participants. How do I know this? I just read about it in the Bible. In Matthew 22, Jesus tells his disciples that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He told his servants to go out in the streets and invite everyone they saw. So the wedding banquet became filled with guests. Then the twist comes. This is what it says:

But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. “Friend, he asked, How did you get in here without wedding clothes?” The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Often I am pumped after reading my Bible. However, this morning was an exception. It was probably because I had just been to three weddings. I started imagining if someone would have come up to me at any one of these weddings, and tell me that I must leave. Can you imagine the embarrassment, not to mention the shock that I would have experienced? I know the first thing I would have done was to pull out my wedding invitation. This man could have done the same thing. The story says he was invited just like all the other guests were. So why was he thrown out when the other guests were allowed to stay? I believe the difference was this man, unlike the other guests, did not prepare himself for this very special wedding banquet. If so, he would not have attended this grand wedding of the king’s son with just his street clothes. No, he would have put his best attire on, out of respect and love for the son, like the other guests did. Instead, it looked like he just showed up for a “freebie”, if you know what I mean. Since the king loved his son so much he demanded more than just a “show-up”. He wanted his guests to have tender hearts for his son. Just like God the Father wants us to have tender hearts for His Son, Jesus. Yes, there is going to be a wedding feast someday. And yes, it’s going to be a grandeur event. And yes, there will be people showing up that will be thrown out. Why? Because they think they can attend because one day they heard the invitation. Someone told them about it, and they thought hearing about it was enough. No my friend, it’s not enough. This is what is enough…falling madly in love with Jesus and making Him Lord of your life. Have you done that? I hope so. I love weddings and I especially love weddings when my friends are at my side. Kurt & Randi’s wedding, along with Katie & Joel’s and Ben & Natalie’s, were really neat weddings. But I have a feeling the wedding that is talked about in the Bible will blow theirs out of the water. Sorry guys. Jesus just knows how to throw really good parties!

For many are invited, but few are chosen.

Matthew 22:14

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Biography Information:

Founder and Director of Key Ministries located in Lexington South Carolina.  You can reach us at keyministries@yahoo.com.  .

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