The Beggar's Rags!

It is a great privilege to have the God who created the universe and all that is within it to be called our Heavenly Father. There are many people around the world who have given their heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ and yet still have a hard time of letting go of their past. It is important that we recognize that as far as God is concerned, our past has been erased and our future has been secured because of the provisions God has made for His children. Never allow your past to keep you from moving forward. If God forgave and forgot, then we need to do the same.

This is a good story that shows the royalty we are after we come to the Lord. I hope this story ministers to your heart to let go of your old baggage and enjoy your life in Christ right now.  Never give in to the enemy's lies of condemnation, but rather remind the devil that you are a new creation in Christ and all past sins have been forgiven and you are now completely set free.

 

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An old beggar lived near the king's palace. One day he saw a proclamation posted outside the palace gate. The king was giving a great dinner. Anyone dressed in royal garments was invited to the party.

 

The beggar went on his way. He looked at the rags he was wearing and sighed. Surely only kings and their families wore royal robes, he thought. Slowly an idea crept into his mind. The audacity of it made him tremble. Would he dare? He made his way back to the palace. He approached the guard at the gate. “Please, sire, I would like to speak to the king.”

 

“Wait here,” the guard replied. In a few minutes, he was back. “His majesty will see you,” he said, and led the beggar in.

 

“You wish to see me?” asked the king.

 

“Yes, your majesty. I want so much to attend the banquet, but I have no royal robes to wear. Please, sir, if I may be so bold, may I have one of your old garments so that I too, may come to the banquet?”

 

The beggar shook so hard that he could not see the faint smile that was on the king's face.

 

“You have been wise in coming to me,” the king said. He called to his son, the young prince. “Take this man to your room and array him in some of your clothes.”

 

The prince did as he was told and soon the beggar was standing before a mirror, clothed in garments that he had never dared hope for. “You are now eligible to attend the king's banquet tomorrow night,” said the prince. “But even more important, you will never need any other clothes. These garments will last forever.”

 

The beggar dropped to his knees. “Oh, thank you,” he cried.

 

But as he started to leave, he looked back at his pile of dirty rags on the floor. He hesitated. What if the prince was wrong? What if he would need his old clothes again? Quickly he gathered them up.

 

The banquet was far greater than he had ever imagined, but he could not enjoy himself as he should. He had made a small bundle of his old rags and it kept falling off his lap. The food was passed quickly and the beggar missed some of the greatest delicacies.

 

Time proved that the prince was right. The clothes did last forever. Still the poor beggar grew fonder and fonder of his old rags. As time passed people seemed to forget the royal robes he was wearing. They saw only the little bundle of filthy rags that he clung to wherever he went. They even spoke of him as the old man with the rags.

 

One day as he lay dying, the king visited him. The beggar saw the sad look on the king's face when he looked at the small bundle of rags by the bed. Suddenly the beggar remembered the prince's words and he realized that his bundle of rags had cost him a lifetime of true royalty. He wept bitterly at his folly.

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We have been invited into a royal family - the family of God.  To feast at God's dinner table, all we have to do is shed our old rags and put on the “new clothes” of faith which is provided by God's Son, Jesus Christ. But we cannot hold onto our old rags and still enjoy the festivities. When we put our faith in Christ, we must let go of the sin in our life, and our old ways of living. Those things must be discarded if we are to experience true royalty and an abundant life in Christ.

 

If you are holding onto your past and are having a hard time letting go, then let this message be your motivation to not allow yourself to miss out on God's best. We need to get the revelation that we are new people when God enters our life. We read this in 2 Corinthians 5:17 which declares, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

 

I encourage you to see yourself as a brand new person and don't allow yourself to think back on your past.  Enjoy and appreciate your spiritual royal garments now so that when you look back on your life, you will not have any regrets of time ill spent.  I do hope you take this message to heart and see yourself as God sees you; A Royal Priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9-10).

 

Stay Blessed!