Thursday, July 18, 2024
“Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying, Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns! Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!”
A Wedding, A Feast, and an Eternal Invitation
This week we have seen God as Shepherd and God as host. What a special honor to have the God of the all creation love us so much that He adopts us as His own, and welcomes us to His table. He loves us so much that He never leaves our side. He watches over us and walks with us through all the valleys and wilderness. We are His adopted sons and daughters and that makes us royalty. If you struggle at all with low self-esteem it is crazy hard to accept this but it is true. He loved us enough to send His Son to die for our sins so we could live with Him for all eternity.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” 1 Peter 2:9
The Holy God who created the universe wants you and me to sit at His table. In fact, He doesn’t just want us to sit with Him, He prepares it for us, a job usually reserved for servants.
In Bible times, Kings would invite important and favored people to his banquet table. Sometimes the banquets would be held outdoors so everyone could see who was invited to the party. Everyone knew who the king favored – and who he did not. You and I are invited, highly favored, anointed, and chosen, by the King of Kings. The difference between God and the ancient Hebrew kings? There is no one that is not invited to His banquet table.
Our Father, the King of Kings, identifies Himself with us. Our pain is His pain. Our joy is His joy. Our struggles are His struggles. I love nothing more than sharing a meal with my children and God feels the same way about us. He wants us to pull up a chair and share our heart with Him as we feast on His grace. He anoints us with His spirit. He saturates us with His living water and our cups overflow. There is never an empty cup at the king’s table, only overflowing abundance that we can spread to others. Do you need to come to the table today? Do you need to come and soak up the sustenance of your Heavenly Father? Only when we accept His invitation to the table can we truly be renewed, filled, and ready to give it away to others.
While we are here on earth, we get to sit at the table with Him and feast upon His banquet of grace, mercy, forgiveness and love. We also feast upon His word that guides us through life. All that we feast on, we give to others to show them the gifts He gives. When we walk the Jesus Way, our life is constantly spilling out to others.
In Revelation 6:9, John writes about the greatest banquet of all - Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!
On that day, everyone will see the church for what she really is: the precious bride of Jesus. “The Bride of Christ is a sort of Cinderella now, sitting among the ashes. She is like her Lord, ‘despised and rejected of men’; the watchmen smite her, and take away her veil from her; for they know her not, even as they knew not her Lord. But when he shall appear, then shall she appear also, and in his glorious manifestation she also shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father.” Charles Spurgeon
This is the vision of a glorious eternity – all the Christians gathered around His banqueting table as the Lord takes His bride, the church. Those who are invited are blessed. Who does not want to spend eternity at the King of Kings banquet table? Are you certain that you will be there? If not take some steps today to make sure you are spending eternity celeberating at the marriage feast of the Lamb.
