Morning Reflections and Beautiful Challenges

On many occasions I have my quiet time, listen to devotionals, or read the Word and find a topic I really want to write about. This morning proved to be the truth, I could not wait to sit down and start writing about what I read and how it enlightened me. My husband and I are still reading Matthew. We have really enjoyed reading this book together and discussing everything Christ talks about in this book. Often we also read a secondary source on the message and background. This really helps us to gain a better understanding of the chapter that day. Today we read Matthew 22: 1- 14, which focuses on Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast. To sum this parable up, the invited guest did not want to come to the wedding feast (the Jews rejecting Jesus) angered, the king invited those in the community to come instead (the Jewish sinners and Gentile outcast). At the feast was a man who did not come in the proper wedding attire. When the king approached him and asked why he was not in the proper wedding attire, the man was speechless. The king stated in verses 13 and 14 “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.” This last part is a depiction of hell obviously, but what symbolic wisdom can we gain from the man that came without the proper wedding garment? This is what Thomas D. Lee and David Alan Black writes in The New Testament Its Background and Message, The lesson from the rejection of the improperly clothed guest is that salvation is a gift, but it is not without standards and is not to be taken lightly. This was truly enlightening and sobering to me this morning. I would love to think my salvation I view as a gift from God and is never taken lightly and that I hold it to the highest of standards. However, I know that I fail at this sometimes. After Christ calls us into a relationship with Him, there is a change in each person. This change should continue and grow so that through our journey on this Earth we are less like our old selves and more Christ like. I believe though for some, this journey stalls and we regress or stand still for days, months, or even years. This is very concerning for Christians today. We should never continuously looks back at the bad places in life we were, but we should always continue to grow and to have the determination to grow, even if we fail. How different would our relationships be, or our life, or our world if all Christians courageously fought to be better than yesterday? This definitely sounds like a daunting task when we realize that we have work to do in our Christian walk. However, it doesn’t have to be. God doesn’t call us to be perfect, instead we are to love Him and love His Word in a way that drives us to become better than we were before we came into a relationship with him. We are called to obey His Word, and we will fail at this sometimes. However, by reading the Word and praying, I believe we will grow more and fail less. I believe that many of us forget how Holy and powerful our God is. Hell is definitely real, and those that have been called as Christians should truly be thankful and humbled and crave to be a better person than we were before. We deserve nothing, and yet we gained everything because of Christ. On many mornings as Adam and I read the Bible together, we leave the kitchen table inspired, happy, and peace filled. However, on some mornings, we are humbled and taken to a place where we as individual Christians need to take inventory of our own personal walk with Christ and deeply reflect on what we read. I am so thankful for those times. I need to be challenged and to walk deep into what God is showing me. This morning was one of those mornings. I am so happy that I can say I was challenged today, because that means I am growing. I am not perfect and never will be, however I will continue to grow and become more like Christ and less like myself. I am determined. Do not be afraid of the challenge or the realization you have work to do. Instead, be thankful that God spoke to you, and is working in your life so that you can become all that He wants you to be in this life. I pray that each of you will be determined today, and everyday, as Christ leads you. God Bless.