A written or verbal request inviting someone to go somewhere or to do something is an invitation. Do you get invitations to go to parties or some other events? I am sure like most of us we look at our calendar then consider the source or our options to accept or not. If it is a very important person or someone you respect, you may even clear your calendar to make sure you can accept the invitation. If the person or event is not considered to be of any substance or your time more valuable elsewhere you may simply decline the invitation. I do not believe any of us would be so vicious as to abuse the inviter or even kill them. Right? (Read Matthew 22:1-14 to understand the implications of such action.)
In Philippians 4:8-9, we are advised to focus our thoughts on doing good and practice the good things learned. Our society is full of conflicts or battles between good versus evil. The lines between the two are skewed according to one’s belief. You see it in politics especially. Who should we believe when the news media slants to one side over another. Unfortunately, social media tends to propagate the conflicts to understand who is right or who is wrong. No one really can be sure. Now, if your opinion over someone is so distorted that you would violently reject an invitation from that person, what a shame. Especially, if the one doing the invitation is a King, it would be even more scandalous. That is the essence of the scripture in Matthew. The knowledgeable of the time, could not see accepting an invitation from someone they refused to recognize. It is a shame that so many people are invited but because they have a distorted view of right and wrong they are left out of the party to suffer in this cold dark world alone.
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