Wedding Invitations

“Then a voice came from the throne, saying: ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, 
you who fear him, 
both great and small!’  Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah!  For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! 
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, 
and his bride has made herself ready. 
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)  Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’  And he added, ‘These are the true words of God.’”  (Revelation 19:5-9 NIV)

Working with college students, my wife and I receive a lot of wedding invitations, and I am often invited by couples to officiate their wedding ceremonies.  While invitations to celebrity weddings or those of the social or political elite may be highly coveted for purely selfish motives, most reflect long-standing relationships with the bride and/or groom. Invitations to weddings, then, are not extended lightly or without thought.  And sometimes the process of culling a potential guest list is excruciating as a couple attempts to meet the demands of their budget and venue.  Do you invite her great-aunt Sally?  What about his great-uncle Joe?  

What it will usually boil down to is the closeness of the relationship.  If you have 250 seats and have selected 240 on your potential guest list of 300, the last ten people you select will likely be determined by the closeness of your relationship with them.

This beautiful passage in Revelation depicts the uniting of God and the Church (all the followers of Jesus) in a glorious wedding celebration. And the angel of the Lord declares, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”  And the invitation is delivered only to those who have had a relationship with the Groom.  Unlike a lot of weddings, Aunt Sally is not going to be invited on the fact she is related to the bride’s side of the family.  Uncle Joe the same.  To get invited to this wedding, you must know the Groom and have a relationship with Him.  But His guest list is not limited by venue size or budget.  In fact, the whole world can come—on that one condition: they must have a relationship with the Groom.  

Today, know how blessed you are if an invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb is awaiting you.  But don’t assume if you know or are related to some of the wedding party, that will score you an invitation.  It might work that way for a lot of weddings, but not this one.  For this one, you have to have a relationship with the Groom.

© Jim Musser 2016