2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. We're told he sent other servants, and they were rejected and their lives were taken. 8 Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.' And, there were many brought to the banquet, but those without the right garments were thrown out. We've been invited to Christ's table, to His wedding feast, and the price of admission, sort of speak, is your life - the right garments involve being clothed with or in Christ. Chuck Colson spoke of a great banquet, and we're reminded that the church should be inviting to all to come to Him. No person is beyond the touch of God - every person is a candidate for the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Each heart has the potential to be changed.
Revelation 19 describes what is called the "marriage supper of the Lamb", and those who are invited are there because of their decision to follow Christ - not because of appearance, social status, or other outward expressions, but because of a change of heart:
(6) I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."
A new initiative from In Touch Ministries has a pretty cool name and an excellent premise. The ministry announced:
This month we kick off The Missing Persons Project, an ongoing series of special reports about the people missing from our local church bodies—men, women, and children who are necessary to the health of our congregations but often go overlooked...There are 5 areas of people who are being concentrated upon: the disabled, widows and orphans, prisoners, the needy, and searchers. In the first installment on the InTouch.org website, the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 is highlighted, where you have two men: the rich man, who chose not to see Lazarus as a brother or fellow human being, and who was compensated with torment for his sumptuous lifestyle and overwhelming apathy. Lazarus was finally comforted in God’s everlasting kingdom. The piece says that the MacArthur Bible Commentary gives us a way to interpret this passage—that “Lazarus was given a place of high honor, reclining next to Abraham at the heavenly banquet.”
That banquet is described in Revelation 19, also known as the marriage supper of the Lamb, and there will be all kinds of people at that marriage feast—men and women, rich and poor, prisoners, those who endured a lifetime of illness, others who labored to spread the gospel, and folks just like Lazarus.
The ministry states that:
What we’re faced with is an image that stands in stark contrast to the way our present world often works—including our churches. It’s time for a difficult question: What compels a Christian to see a fellow human being as unnecessary to the body of Christ? What makes him treat someone like a project—or worse, causes him to ignore his neighbor altogether? To be human is to see and be seen; to hear and be heard; to love and be loved. See, hear, love. This is the Christian’s anthem, in both theory and practice. We are charged to see, hear, and love our neighbor as we ourselves are seen, heard, and loved by God.We are encouraged to reach out to these "missing persons" who are sometimes not recognized and esteemed. God has placed people in our lives, and we have to be sensitized to their needs, then mobilized individually and collectively to reach out in the name of Jesus and display His love. Who is the "Lazarus" that we may encounter today? Who can we invite to the wedding supper of the Lamb, where all are accepted, not because of social status or physical appearance, but because of the presence of Jesus Christ?
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