Royal Attire Required and Generously Supplied

Have you ever felt inappropriately dressed? You never need to feel that way in God's presence.

Have you ever watched the commercial that asserts that by simply dipping any stained fabric in a solution made up of hot water and their product, the stains would disappear, leaving the item sparkling clean? I have never gotten the results promised, but some stains do disappear if I soak and scrub them enough.

Thank God for the cleansing power of the blood of the Lamb. What God promised is genuine and without exaggeration. When we turn to Him in repentance, our filthy, sin-stained clothes are replaced by His robes of righteousness. Our sins, although they are as scarlet, are made as white as snow. His blood does not merely attract our stains; His blood eradicates our stains. (Isaiah 1:18)

Many people believe that they must first cleanse themselves and make themselves presentable before they dare draw near to God. But the truth is, there is nothing we can do ourselves that will remove the evidence of sin in our lives. There is no need to try to scrub away our stains before we approach the cross.

I was drawn to the parable of the Wedding Feast and the last-minute invited guest who was thrown out of the party. (Matthew 22:1-14) I struggled with this particular parable for years, not understanding why the King spoke so harshly to the guest, as the guest was not given much time to present himself to the court. Didn’t the King realize that the poor man had neither the time nor the funds to purchase fine wedding attire suitable for such an occasion? Surely the King realized that this poor man had received a last-minute invitation and was only there because so many before him had rejected the same invitation. Where was the justice in the royal heave-ho?

Upon further reflection, I saw something I had not noticed before. The King pointed out only one person from the throng of misfits and down-and-outers who were invited at the last minute to the wedding feast. Why didn’t the King throw the whole bunch of them into the darkness?

Perhaps the other guests were suitably dressed. But where would they have found such rich attire? I am sure many came from the same street corner as the first guest. Their clothes were probably just as stained and inappropriate as his.

Could it be that they were offered suitable clothing to wear, provided by the King as a gift? If so, did the man refuse the attire from a poor fashion sense, believing he was already well-attired (Isaiah 64:6)? Maybe he thought he could camouflage his stained clothing. Perhaps he felt he was somehow more unworthy than all the rest who were presented with the same generous offer.

In any case, his foolishness cost him dearly.

No one, on their own merit, is fit to stand in the presence of our King. Yet he calls us to Himself by His mercy and His great love for us. (John 6:65, Titus 3:5).

If you identify with the inappropriately attired wedding guest, ask the Lord to dress you in His righteousness. The startling truth is this. God doesn’t just want us to come to His wedding as a guest. He calls us to come as His bride.

Isaiah 61:10 – “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

Until next week,

©2022 Katherine Walden

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