A 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 and

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 so much of the greatest delicacies.

Time proved that the prince was right. The clothes lasted

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. And the king wept with

him.

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. 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

abundant life in Christ. "Behold, the old is passed

away; the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

A new season will be here shortly. Fall will be upon us

and the leaves will change and once again we will prepare

for winter. Why not use this time to start over again

with a renewed faith in Christ and truly let go of the

"old rags" of life and experience the

"abundant life" the King has for us!!

OUR CHURCH HAS MOVED TO: The American Legion Log Cabin in

Fayetteville!!

Dr. Knox Herndon is the Pastor of "His House

Community Church" (SBC) and a substitute school

teacher in the Fayette County school system, and a former

Army Chaplain. The church is currently meeting in the

American Legion Log Cabin across from the fountain on the

Square in Fayetteville. Prayer line (770)-719-2365 E-Mail

[email protected]

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