Wandering Crusader 258 Sunday Go To Meeting

And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 

Proper etiquette calls for a person to dress for the occasion, not the crowd. Looking at the verse above, it seems to me that standard of civility goes back a long way. But all the rules aside, proper dress is ultimately a gesture of respect, a matter of treating one’s neighbor as one would be treated.

I often hear how God doesn’t care how we dress on Sunday. After all, He looks on the heart. However, I believe that how a person dresses says a great deal about their heart. What is your heart saying to God if He does not deserve your best? Have you even asked Him?

I am a dinosaur. I freely admit it without a hint of shame. I don’t expect others to dress as I do. I have a command from God on the matter. Since it was a personal communication, I believe it only applies to me. Nevertheless, I have discovered that personal applications of the gospel tend to spring from broad principles.

While specifics vary for believers on a given matter, there is a unifying spiritual lesson to be learned from obedience. If nothing else, that lesson is ultimately the first and great commandment, love for God. If He numbers the hairs of our head, there is not a thing in a believer’s life that God does not care about.

It is willful ignorance to believe that because God has not yet expressed to us His desire in a matter that He never will. We are not born into the Kingdom of God ready for every transforming lesson. Nor do we spring from the Spirit fully formed.

Here is wisdom. No matter what you believe, if you go seeking something from a person, you will take away more if you dress in such a way as to show respect for the person and the occasion. Plainly put, show up on time, dressed in your best I’d-like-a-favor-clothes and wearing an attitude of humility that puts others first.

If you were going to meet God at His house and hoping for a blessing, dress for the occasion rather than to show how casually you take the visit. Remember the man in the story.

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. For many are called, but few are chosen.

Maranatha