Different cultures have different rules about wearing shoes in the home. In some homes, there are no rigid boundaries between the inside and outside. People freely walk in and out of the house in the same shoes. In other homes, the line between inside and outside is there, but it’s fuzzy. You wouldn’t wear wet or dirty boots inside, but as long as there’s no obvious dirt, you’re fine. In many homes, outside shoes are for the outside. Shoes inside the home are off-limits. Japanese homes take things to a whole new level.

When you step into a Japanese home, there is a defined outside shoe area just inside the door. To move into the living area, you have to cross a barrier marked by a short step, and you never do so without taking off your shoes. Once inside the living area, there’s another barrier marked by another step leading to the washroom. To pass that barrier, you have to take off your inside slippers and put on the toilet slippers, and as you do, you’re conscious that you’re moving to an unclean place. Almost every foreigner has been in the embarrassing situation of sitting and talking in the living room with their Japanese host, only to look down, horrified, and realize that they never took off their toilet slippers after their trip to the W.C.

As more foreigners visit Japan, Japanese hosts have to negotiate the cultural differences around views of what’s clean and what’s not. As we welcomed guests from many different countries in our home in Japan, it was clear that they struggled with the Japanese rules. Some people explained to me that their shoes weren’t that dirty. Others were convinced that they could wipe off the dirt. And some people just didn’t like to put on other people’s slippers. It was humbling to be told that your shoes were too dirty to just walk in. Despite the differences, everyone seemed to concede that a guest must defer to the host.

As I have reflected on the dilemma faced by many Japanese hosts with their foreign guests, I’m reminded of a similar problem confronting God as the host of heaven. In fact, a story that Jesus told sounds very similar to the problem of slippers and outside shoes in Japan. And it helps me understand what keeps many people out of heaven.

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus compared heaven to a wedding reception hosted by a king for his son (v. 2). At the time, weddings were the most joyous and extravagant events in the life of a town. A royal wedding feast would be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Surprisingly, many of the people who are invited, don’t respond. Although the preparations are set, and the invitations have gone out (v. 4), people pay little attention to the king, too preoccupied with their jobs and day-to-day lives (v 5). The message seems to be that heaven is a glorious place, but many people have so little time for God that they never bother to hear or respond to the invitation He generously makes to them.

Rather than calling off the wedding reception, the king sends his servants out to invite anyone they can find. The preferred royal invite list has gone out the window and all are invited to come, “both bad and good” (v. 10). While the hall is filled with guests now, Jesus’ story takes an unusual turn which the dilemma of the Japanese host prepares us to understand. The king sees the guests and He is no doubt glad that there is now a crowd befitting a celebration for his son. One guest, however, catches his attention because he “had no wedding garment” (v. 11). The king orders him tied up and thrown out. It’s obvious that this guest has deeply offended the king, but how?

It can’t be that the king expects his guests to arrive in tuxedos and ballgowns because he gathered up anyone who was willing to come. The poor could hardly be expected to have suitable clothing for a royal wedding reception. It also can’t be a backhanded way of saying that the guest wasn’t good enough because, as we saw, the king deliberately invited “both bad and good” (v. 10). Nobody deserved to be at this party, but the king wanted a full room of guests anyway. What happened in the line-up to the wedding reception was almost certainly what happens when you arrive as a guest in a Japanese home. Your host knows that your shoes are dirty. And you can’t make them clean by just wiping them. But instead of turning you away in embarrassment, they ask you to take off your shoes and they give you some clean slippers.

The king didn’t just invite people to his feast, he provided wedding garments so everyone could be dressed appropriately. Most of the guests received the royal clothing eagerly, but there was a guest who refused it. He wanted the king’s feast but not the king’s clothes. He probably thought he was good enough already. A guest in a Japanese home who refused to exchange their dirty shoes for clean slippers would cause the host great offence. But to do so to a king on the day of the royal wedding would be treasonous.

Jesus’ story shows me what keeps people out of heaven. First, despite the great privilege of an eternity in paradise, many people are too caught up with the here and now to listen to God and respond to His invitation. They may proudly think that they are so worthy that they can get around to it whenever they want. Second, heaven is more pure and holy than our cleanest carpets and most precious rugs. We can’t just barge in without dealing with the impurity of our hearts and lives. Thirdly, only those who will humble themselves to receive God’s covering for our sin and impurity will be accepted. When we put our faith in Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, His death for us on the cross covers our sin and becomes our righteousness.

Read Jesus’ account in Matthew 22:1-14 and reflect on your own response to God’s invitation to join Him in celebration in heaven.

In awe of Him,

Paul