I love a good celebration! It is currently wedding season, according to the invites on our fridge, graduations are around the corner, and people are having babies all around me, not to mention the birthday and anniversary celebrations happening. There are so many joyous occasions! How do you know if you get to participate in the festivities? You receive an invitation!
Invitations can be personal, formal, informal, electronic, verbal, paper, or any other means of getting the message to your intended recipient. There are invitations where invitees are allowed to invite others and those exclusive to the invitee. Invitations signal that you are wanted at an event. You are special. They petition you to join a specific celebration or gathering.
Jesus has offered for EVERYONE to receive an invitation to celebrate with Him at the biggest, most joyful party of all time! Our presence is wanted. We are special! This party will be a heavenly bash that will put even the most elaborate earthly wedding shin-dig to shame. With God the Father as host, the reception for Jesus, who is called the Bridegroom in the Bible, and His Bride – those who call Jesus their Lord, His church, will be out of this world! When earthly life is done and Jesus comes to receive His Bride, we will celebrate our coming together in heaven at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb – Jesus, the sacrificial lamb who gave Himself for His Bride.
The difference between Jesus’s invitation and other invitations is this –
In our human imperfection, we are dressed in sin-soaked rags compared to God’s pure perfection. Accepting Jesus’s sacrifice allows us to exchange our rags for a pure and perfect wedding garment – our bright white party robe!
The clothes we accept from Jesus are our ticket into the eternal celebration. Everyone is equally loved in our Bridegroom’s eyes – there are no divisions or stature to separate us, just one body, together, celebrating our Savior!
If we refuse the invitation to wear the purified garments, we are declining the invitation.
Have you ever failed to RSVP for a party, and it was too late? You missed the deadline, so you missed the event. There is a deadline to RSVP for the Heavenly Feast. It may seem as though it has been, or is, a long time coming, but don’t get caught unprepared! 2 Peter 3:9 says: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” There will be a capacity crowd at the celebration. If we don’t accept the invitation, we WILL get left out. Don’t miss out on the fun!! And invite your loved ones!