God's Dress Code

In Matthew‘s gospel, we read about the circumstances surrounding a wedding.  If you recall, a King had sent out numerous invitations, only to find out at the last moment, that his chosen guests could not attend.  He then dispatched his servants to bring in anyone they could find.  After all, you can‘t really celebrate without people, and what an honor it would be to party with the King! The banquet hall was ready, the ample food and drink prepared, and the assembled guests awaited the arrival of their host. Everything seemed to be in order until we read the following passage: “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:11-14. I don’t know about you, but this sounds like a rather harsh, and unreasonable, punishment for such a minor social blunder. Was he wearing only his underwear?

OK, here is the rest of the story.  In those days, when you received an invitation to a wedding, you’d excitedly pull out your special white wedding robe from the back of your closet.  If you didn’t have one, or yours was dirty or in disrepair, fear not the host had extras on hand. Everyone knew what the required attire was, and wouldn’t think of bucking tradition.  All but that one guy, that is.  So then, is the moral of this story about wearing proper clothing to church? Does God have a dress code? I thought about it for a bit, and realized how silly that sounded. While it is common sense, and respectful not to wear inappropriate garb, especially to worship, I think that the Creator of the universe has better things to do than judge us on our outfits choices.  “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7.

What can we learn from this scripture then? God calls us ALL to his banqueting table, but to enter we must put on the clean, white robe of his righteousness.  To come before Him, believing that our own grubby righteousness is sufficient, refusing his offer of salvation, is tantamount to arriving in our dirty underwear! No robe, No salvation. Fashion has changed over the centuries; denim has taken the place of silk dresses and fedoras on Sunday morning.  One thing that shouldn't change is our desire to spend time celebrating with God, in the duds he supplies. “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10