St. Matthew, Chapter 22, verse: 8; They were not worthy.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The king's anger) Part 3.  


Christ continues to compare the kingdom of heaven to the king and his wedding feast.  The king had made all the preparations to have a great feast in honor of his son.  Yet the people that were invited did not come.  They did not show up.  And further, in order to stop the talk by king's messengers, they beat and killed them.  They did not want to hear about this wedding feast any more.  They did not care what would happen.  They just wanted to stop the message from being spread throughout the kingdom.

This angered the king so much that he sent his soldiers out to those villages and towns and burnt them to the ground and killed all the inhabitants.  Then the king set another date, after all this had happened, and prepared to celebrate a great event.  "Then he said to his servants, 'The marriage feast indeed is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.' "  

What meaning, what understanding can we gather from this today?  Did we get the invitation to come to the party?  Did we ignore the message and beat the messengers?  Are we worthy to attend this great celebration?  The call is out.  The tables are set.  What is our hesitation?  Why do we tarry?  What holds us, what prevents us, what turns us away from the event of a life time?  Are we on the fence of life considering the possibilities, or are we walking on the green grass that's on the other side having second thoughts about what we may miss?

We are given a choice.  We have the opportunity to decide what we want to do with our lives.  But there is also the influence of the world that weighs upon our everyday decisions.  We can think about it for a minute and then  forget it because we are back in the realm of the world going about our daily lives.  And our daily lives are governed and guided by the world.  For it is the world that we live in.  And it is the world that decides for us who and what we are going to do each and every day.  

The struggle is ours.  We can go along with the rest and do as the world dictates.  Or we can make a choice and go against the flow, swimming up stream.  What does it benefit us?  What do we profit going against the flow?  Will we get tired and allow the current of the world to carry us in whatever way the stream flows?  We need help.  We need guidance.  We need protection.  It would be easier if we had a boat to take us upstream.  It would be easier if we had a motor to drive the boat that would take us upstream.  If we had to row of our own energy we would eventually tire and be swept away by the current.

Everything is prepared and the feast is about to begin.  Are you worthy of the invitation?  Are you thankful of the invitation?  Are you grateful that you were invited?  Do not be angry that you continue to hear the message.  Do not turn away when you hear the calling.  For the king wants all to come.  He wants all to be invited.  He wants all to enjoy the happiness that he affords.  He is a happy king.  He is a joyous king.  He is a loving king and he will provide all with the means to make the journey for those who want to come .  All we need to do is to decide to come!

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.