Author unknown -
Adapted
One
day a beggar saw a proclamation posted on the palace gate. The king was
giving a great dinner to honor his son. Anyone dressed in royal
garments was invited. The beggar looked at the rags he was wearing and
sighed. Surely only kings and their families had royal garments.
An idea crept into his mind. The audacity of it made him tremble. The
beggar approached the guard at the gate saying, "Please, sire, may I
speak to the king."
"Wait here," the guard replied.
In a few minutes, he returned. "His majesty will see you," he said, and
led the beggar in.
"You wish to see me?" asked the king.
"Yes, your majesty. I would like to attend the banquet honoring your son
but I have no royal robes. Please, sir, if I may be so bold, may I have
one of your old garments so that I may attend the banquet?"
"You have been wise in asking me," the king replied. He called to his
son requesting, "Take this man to your room and dress him in some of
your clothes."
The prince did and soon the beggar was clothed in royal garments that he
had never dared dream or hope for.
"You are eligible to attend my father's banquet tomorrow,"
said the prince. "But even more important, you will never need any other
garments. These will last forever."
"Oh, thank you," cried the beggar dropping to his knees. As he started
to leave, he looked back at his former clothes, a pile of dirty rags on
the floor. He quickly gathered them up.
The banquet was greater than he had imagined, but he did not enjoy
himself as he should. He had made a small bundle of his rags and it kept
falling off his lap. As the food was passed around the beggar missed
some of the feast's delicacies.
Time however proved the prince right. The clothes given him by the
prince lasted forever.
As time passed people took note of the little bundle of filthy rags that
he clung to rather then the royal robes he was wearing. They spoke of
him as the old rag man.
One day as he lay dying, the king came to visit him. The beggar saw the
sad look on the king's face when he looked at the small bundle of rags
by the bed. He remembered the prince's words and he wept bitterly at his
folly and confessed that not leaving behind his bundle of rags had cost
him a lifetime of true royalty.
In compassion the king wept with him.
Each of us has been invited into God's royal family. To feast at God's
table and all we have to do is shed our old rags and put on the
"garments" of faith provided by God's Son, Jesus.
We must not hold onto our old rags. When we put our faith in Christ, we
must leave behind the sin in our life and our old ways of living. Sin,
the rags of unrighteousness, must be discarded if we are to experience
the royal and abundant life in Christ. Jesus is the believer's robe of
righteousness.
Are you holding onto sin that others may see as dirty old rags?
If so, it's time to put them it into life's dumpster and walk in the
royal garments given you by the King's Son.
Sent
by Harvey and June Schneider
Servant Soldiers Ministries
Daphne, Alabama
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