Right to Heaven

Now that I am married I have lot of time to waste… which I am not doing…

I am trying to relearn things before I start preaching to my wife, principal one being Religion. That’s huge crossover for someone to disown her life-long belief and adapt to a new alien credence. I believe in religion, contradictions don’t exist but that’s another story for another blogging day. Anyway I guess the best way is to explain to her is to learn through her premise. That’s where my new favorite comes in www.biblegateway.com.

Read an interesting thought provoking passage today which I want to share with you
Matthew 22:
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'
5 "But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.

13 "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.'

14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

This is a passage I've read couple of times now, and I get stuck at verse. 13. Coming from bible I was expecting it to read, “Then the king told the attendants 'Get this man some nice clothing. Buy him a suit and give him a nice tie.’”

It seems many people focus on the "loving" and "merciful" aspect of Christianity, and might say the God of the Old Testament is different in personality than the one in the New Testament. It's interesting to think, though, that there will be many people who "show up to the banquet" in heaven, before God, only to be cast out of His presence because they aren't prepared.

I think there is an important distinction to draw and a glimpse of similarity with Islam sans the language used - it is through the mercy of the king that the man was invited to the wedding in the first place. God's mercy and grace give man an opportunity to approach Him, to seek forgiveness of sin. However, it is still the man's responsibility to be "dressed appropriately" once the party starts. I think so many us today live our life by thinking, "God is loving and merciful. He'll let me into heaven because I'm a nice guy" when the truth is that we need to be a little more prepared than that. Perhaps in the way he wants us to be prepared.