I have several thick, heavy, over-sized flannel shirts that I enjoy wearing in the winter. Sometimes I will plan to wear one, only to have it mysteriously disappear. Later, I will discover it wrapped around something- my youngest daughter! I know that you can tell from previous blog posts that I share a special relationship with my daughters that is an important part of my life! The first time or two that she swiped my shirt, she would respond a little sheepishly when discovered.
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son… “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.”But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. Matthew 22
I told her once that I was happy to have her wear my shirts or jackets any time. “Whoever is in my clothes belongs to me,” I said. She has an open invitation to wear them whenever she wishes, knowing that I will never rebuke her for doing so. She belongs to me, and while I say it somewhat jokingly, my shirt covering her is a sign of that fact! Her behavior is irrelevant. Good day or bad, she still belongs to me. That can never change.
The king welcomed everyone in to the banquet, good and bad. He freely provided wedding garments so that all would be comfortable and feel that they belonged. The garment was a visible sign of approval, of belonging. Jesus said that His kingdom is just like that! He freely provides the beautiful garment of His righteousness to us. We don’t deserve it. Can’t earn it. Can’t beg, borrow or steal it. All we can do is to just accept it. I can see my daughter relaxing in my shirt, relishing the welcome warmth of it, reveling in the knowing that she belongs in it. I can relax in Jesus’ garment, comforted as it covers me completely, knowing that I belong in it, knowing that I belong to Him!