In the Virgin Islands where I was born and raised, there is a saying that I heard a lot. Here it is. “Who don’t hear does feel.” The last eleven days in May of this year, I felt the reality of this Caribbean proverb in a very literal way.

When I was a boy I also felt the reality of this saying when my parents didn’t spare the rod for fear that I would be spoiled. Now as an adult, I can still say that consequences are still one of life’s greatest teachers. We have all learned from them and sometimes we have to be taught the same thing more than once, but I am hoping that I will not have to face this kind of consequence again.

About two days before I left for San Francisco, I checked the weather to see what kind of clothes I should bring. I don’t remember exactly what the temperature reading was, but it was somewhere between sixty and seventy degrees. I remember thinking right at that moment, that’s not too bad.” “It is the end of spring and summer is almost here. It isn’t going to be like that for the whole time I’m there.” It was in the eighties in Orlando at the time and somehow I knew since I was going to California that the weather would be close to what I was already experiencing. I even imagined that at some point, there would be time for a walk on the beach, an opportunity that I was not going to pass up. Two pairs of shorts and quite a few t-shirts were packed along with my thinnest jacket for the coldness on the airplane of course. Turns out that I didn’t even need the jacket on the airplane, but when I landed, I was glad that I had packed it even though I didn’t put it on right away.

It was about 2:30 in the afternoon when I arrived and as evening drew nearer, I had to take out the jacket I packed just to wear on the airplane. I had only been at the place where I was supposed to stay for about three hours before the temperature began to fall. The building had no central heating, so when the time came to go to bed I wondered what I would do, but thankfully my hosts gave me a heater to put by my bed. If it wasn’t for that heater, I may have gone to bed with my jacket on. The next day found me praying, hoping and believing that God would send some sunshine, but the next day was colder than the day before. There was no walking on the beach that day for sure and the heater that was given to me had to be taken down stairs to keep me warm. The first night I had to sing found me just as unprepared. Kelly, the husband of my host family, offered me one of his over coats, but ironically I didn’t think I would need it. The clothes that I took to perform in was also clothes that I would normally wear in the summer and the temperature being somewhere between 50 and 60 degrees felt even colder because of the wind that blew very often, so I’m sure you can imagine that I stayed inside as much as possible. It did get a little warmer, but not warm enough to spend much time outside and certainly not warm enough to walk on the beach. Because of my failure to prepare for the weather, four or five days after I arrived in San Francisco I came down with a cold.

Now that I’m back in Orlando and I have had some time to reflect on this experience, I believe that there is a very important spiritual application to be made. Matthew 22:11-14 are the verses that come to mind.

Matthew 22
KJV 11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

These verses serve as the conclusion of one of Jesus’ parables. Jesus begins the parable with the statement, “the kingdom of Heaven is like”. Since the goal of every believer in Jesus is to make it to that kingdom, we should pay very close attention to his description and seek to understand what he is trying to communicate to us. When you get a moment for some quiet time, read Matthew 22:1-13. You will notice that the king’s invitation was extended to all. No one was excluded. The only requirement is that everyone had to have on a wedding garment and in order to make sure that everyone at the feast had the appropriate clothing; the king came to see if the guests would comply with his wishes. Unfortunately there was someone there without the necessary garments and he could not give an answer when the king asked him how he got in.

God truly gave us everything when he gave us his Son, but somehow many are still trying to make it in without the garment that God requires. I believe that it’s because the garment that God requires is a garment that he provides for everyone who believes in his Son Jesus. However, the kind of belief that we must have in Jesus is one that leaves no room for trusting in our own goodness. This kind of belief requires complete and total surrender which can only happen by faith. Therefore, we struggle with acknowledging the fact that our garments are not sufficient. As a result we try to hide our sins behind our own good works which will never be good enough. I remember one night on TV there was a documentary about people in prison. Many of the prisoners were interviewed and I couldn’t help but notice how many of them seem to comfort themselves by saying that their crimes were not as bad as the other guy. If I remember correctly, some of them were very indignant over the crimes of their fellow inmates as if their own crimes were not that bad since after all there are worse crimes. I remember watching another documentary about people who steal the identity of other people and redirect funds from their bank accounts. I remember hearing one of the thieves patting himself on the back because he wouldn’t steal money from anyone who had less than $5000 in the bank. You may laugh at this kind of thinking, but we all have done this to some degree. Some donate to charities, some go to church and some become very pious, believing that just because they have been able to achieve some measure of self-discipline that God will overlook their faults. God is no respecter of persons. He will not overlook our faults. By faith, we must surrender to him completely that our sins may be washed away.

Another reason why many are trying to make it in to Heaven without the Garment that God freely gives is that they have accepted a false idea of what this garment represents, so they are confident that they are wearing it when they really aren’t. For too many, faith is no more than agreeing with a set of doctrinal opinions. I believe in the trinity, I believe that Jesus is the son of God, I believe that he was crucified and resurrected on the third day and so on. But the question begs to be asked. What does that look like in your life and mine? If what we believe about Jesus doesn’t make us more like Jesus, then our belief is in vain. Jesus Himself said so. Check it out.
Matthew 7
21 ¶Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
According to this verse, Jesus is not only concerned about what we believe, He seems to be even more concerned about what we do with those beliefs: so concerned that he will not let anyone in to his kingdom who doesn’t do his Father’s will. Jesus is saying that those who will be turned away are those who accepted his authority, even to the point where they could call him lord, but they did not believe in his lordship enough to obey him. Isn’t it ironic that those who are turned away are really confident that they have a right to be there? Perhaps, the man at the wedding without a wedding garment felt the same way. But what could he say when asked about his attire? This is a hard saying especially for me. If we say that we have faith in God, there is absolutely no good reason to disobey him. The man was speechless, but those in Matthew 7 began to recite all their good works done in the name of Jesus.

There is a great big wedding that we all have been invited to. No one is excluded, but in order to get in, we must receive the free gift of his wedding garment and the only way to receive it is by faith. . One day soon Jesus is going to marry his bride: the church and she will be clothed in the finest and brightest white linen and “the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.” (Revelation 19:8) It is a righteousness that belongs to him, but he gives it to us and we receive it by faith. If we want to do the will of the Father, the only way to do it is to receive the righteousness of Christ by faith. If we want to be obedient, the only way to do it is to receive the righteousness of Christ by faith. If we want to experience the power that only the grace of God brings, the only way to get it is to receive the righteousness of Christ by faith. If we want the peace that passes all understanding, well I think by now you know what I’m going to say. When we receive Christ, we get everything we need and we are “qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:12) We must never fall into the lethargy that comes from the false idea that we are okay without the garment Christ offers to us. This is the mistake I made when preparing for my trip to San Francisco. When I arrived a coat was offered me, but I stubbornly refused believing that even though I was freezing I would survive. There were definitely consequences for my decision, but thank God I did survive. My prayer for myself and for you is that we would receive by faith the wedding garment offered to us by Christ and never find ourselves trusting in our own goodness on the day that the king comes to see his guests.