Corrinado

Nineteen couples have had documented weddings in or at the White House. Nine have been children of presidents, three have been a niece or nephew of the president or first lady, two were siblings, two were staffers, one granddaughter, one friend, and one president.

Who would not feel honored if they were invited to such a fine venue, especially if for the wedding of a member of the president's family? I can imagine that this wedding invitation would be passed around and shown off til the day of the wedding, then framed for posterity sake.

Please read Matthew 2:1-14

Read Matthew 25:1-13

Read Revelation 19:7-9

I have a far greater invitation for you here than one you could ever receive to D.C.. I cannot speak for you, but I can honestly say that I had rather be torn to pieces limb from limb tonight and die in the glorious hope of being at the marriage supper of the Lamb than to live happily in this world a thousand years and miss that appointment at the last.

This is no myth. It is not a lie or a dream; it is a real invitation. Every person who has ever drawn a breath on planet earth is invited. All things are now ready. The feast has been prepared at great expense. You cannot spurn the grace and the gift of God. This wedding costs exceedingly more than all the weddings cost in human history - past, present, and future. When God gave Christ, He gave the best that Heaven had to offer, and now He sends out the invitation. He commands His servants to go into highways, hedges, and lanes to compel them to come in, that His House may be full. Who will come?

You say you are not fit to come? If the presidential seal is on the invitation, then you are welcome. If you are a sinner, then you are welcome. The first will get you into the White House for a grand Saturday afternoon affair that will make you the envy of all who know you. The latter will get you into the Kingdom for a peaceful and active rest that lasts for eternity. This hope of peace will make you the envy of all who do not share in it. They desire it, but are not willing - at least some, for the moment - to rise, dress, and attend.

In Latin there is a term the Puritans used: Corrinado. It means "before the face of God." I spoke this past Sunday about being included and not being overlooked. If you are (and I assume you are a part of the family of God), then your name has been written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Read Revelation 13:8; 21:27

Our names there are written not in ink, but the Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Once your name is placed there, it cannot be erased and it assures you that you won't be overlooked, excluded or forgotten. We are forever before the face of God.

I am not so prideful as to think that this short blog shall remove all the trouble in your life. "Peace of mind" doesn't change circumstances. For example, as I write this I am well aware of my mother's physical and mental condition in a Rest Home. My eternal hope of glory changes nothing about her condition. However, God has been good through it all. It was her idea to stop driving, her idea to leave home, her idea to move here. It was God that gave her a private room in walking distance of our home. God has given her and us a peace about it all and He grants us with the strength to face her decline with grace.

It is our eternal hope of glory that causes us to have an overwhelming confidence that her best is just over the next hill. That climb might be the hardest of her life, but oh the joy that is just ahead is totally worth our faithfulness in spite of our fears and sorrow. I know and she knows that God has not forsaken us. We are forever before His face.

Do not ever lose sight of Him because He will never lose sight of you. You matter. His seal and your name is on the invitation, and it is written in His Son's blood.





In Christ,
Pastor Todd