Let me get this straight….a man is invited to the wedding feast, but when he shows up they tie him up and throw him out? Why him in the first place?
Jesus is talking about heaven here. Using a metaphor that people will understand he compares it to a wedding feast. It doesn’t matter what you look like when you are invited, but it’s implied that you will clean up and be dressed up when you arrive at the wedding. Just because you were wearing your pajamas when you received the invitation doesn’t mean that pajamas are acceptable wedding attire. Apparently, the guy in the illustration hadn’t dressed for the wedding.
The larger question for us is this: “How do we get dressed up?” We don’t want to be thrown out, what will be suitable attire? The short answer is “righteousness”. That means doing what God commanded us to do. Obedient servants are righteous, and can be called “holy”. In Galatians 3:27 it says “And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.” Accepting Christ as your Savior, confessing your sins and admitting your guilt and receiving his forgiveness…this puts the right clothes on us. Again, in Revelation 3 it says the victorious will be clothed in white. In Revelation 7 it says those clothed in white became that way by washing their robes in the blood of the Lamb. That’s saying Jesus is the way to have white robes, and a white robe is wedding attire. If you want to be dressed for the wedding, then call out to Jesus and ask for forgiveness. Then you will be dressed in white. I only add to that this thought: in order to remain dressed in white, we must be obedient to Christ. We can’t “earn” our white robe, it has been paid for by Jesus. But we can retain it by being obedient. I refer to our decision to be done with sin once and for all.
Verse 15 and following: One day (and maybe one day soon) it will be possible to be arrested simply for saying what the Bible says. Already here in the United States there are economic “punishments” for not accepting what the fallen world has adopted as truth. It’s frightening in one sense…and exhilarating in another. Sort of like standing on the edge of a diving board, knowing that in a few moments you will be climbing out of the pool and into the arms of your friends who will be smiling and patting you on the back and congratulating you. But first….you must dive.
Verse 23 and following: So the dead will rise. That’s the answer to the first question. Yes Virginia, there is a resurrection. The answer to the second question raises another question. We won’t marry in heaven because we will be like angels in that regard. Okay….does that mean we won’t be “male and female” anymore? Think about this seriously for a minute.
What if the only thing that really makes us “male or female” are the sexual organs and the accompanying hormone producing organs? What if that one “feature” is removed from us in heaven? I would still be who I am, less some testosterone. The same for my wife would be true.. less some estrogen. And thinking of this, aren’t some of us gender confused already? We think we were supposed to be born female, yet we have male organs…etc. What if that feeling isn’t wrong…just misdirected. What if we are feeling like we are supposed to be something more than just male or female…..what if the sex identification is good for this world, but would be a hindrance in the next? Consider this some time when you want to really twist your mind up. All attributes come from God…both male and female. So if men have some tendencies that we sometimes associate with women..that doesn’t mean they aren’t men, or that they were born with the wrong gender. It simply means that God gave them more of some attributes than others. It doesn’t mean we should try and violate the natural order of things that God has established. We may mishandle this reality, associating bad behavior with our feelings, emotions and desires. We might even demand that our bad behavior be accepted as good behavior, because of the underlying way we process information. But that doesn’t make it right in God’s sight.
This is raw thought here….I haven’t refined it at all. And, maybe I should before I put it out in print. Then again, that’s not the purpose of this blog. I am simply recording my thoughts as I read through God’s Word. So today as I read the passage about being “male or female” I hear the Lord saying “don’t be too hard on those who are confused about their gender” I certainly am not endorsing homosexuality or the LGBT movement or theology. God has given us guidance on regarding sex and gender, and we should follow it. To abandon what God has ordained for this period is to be disobedient, and disobedience is sin. On the other hand, there could be legitimate reasons for this confusion, and those who are picking up on it could be sensing something that the rest of us aren’t. In heaven, there won’t be men or women…..only people.
In our understanding of this passage, we shouldn’t forget that the people in heaven will be wearing white robes.
Searching for truth,
PR