We think about what we wear. We have specific clothes for working in our yard, others for going to town, and still others for special occasions. We likely care less about the clothes we wear while working in the yard. I know what I wear working in the yard is typically older clothes and may even have a hole or two in them.

When we are going to town to shop or see a movie or go out to dinner, we have clothes we wear for those occasions. They may be casual, but it is likely they do not have holes in them. Depending on the restaurant we are going to, we may wear khakis rather than jeans, a collared shirt rather than a T-shirt.

If we are going to a special event such as a professional dinner, a symphony concert, or a wedding, we dress up. Even if we do not wear a suit or evening gown, we wear clothes that we consider more fitting for the occasion. Sometimes, we may decide to wear a tuxedo or ball gown. We don’t want to look out of place.

Unfortunately, many people are not dressed appropriately to meet with God. No, I’m not talking about clothes. I’m talking about our lives. We do not come to God with humble hearts. We do not strive to obey him on an everyday basis. In fact, some of us only come to him when we are in need, when we find ourselves in trouble, when we are at wits end.

Jesus tells a parable at the beginning of Matthew 22 about a king who gave a wedding banquet. Those who were invited turned him down so they could do something else. When he sent his servants out to find others they thought worthy of attending, those people mistreated his servants and killed some of them. Finally, the king has his servants to simply go into the streets and invite everyone they saw. The banquet hall was filled, but not everyone was appropriately dressed. Those who were not appropriately dressed were thrown out.

Jesus says this is a comparison or a metaphor for the kingdom of heaven. Again, Jesus is not talking about clothes. He is talking about people who are either clothed with Him or not clothed with Him. Those who are clothed with Jesus will remain. Those who are not clothed with Him will be thrown out.

Jesus has given every one of us an invitation to be clothed with Him. Each of us must make a choice. We can accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior or we can reject Him. There is no in-between, no gray area, only one or the other. May each one of us choose to be clothed by Jesus.

Matthew 22:11-12: “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless.”