We have a wedding coming up in our family, and it brings back memories of how I felt as a young bride in love with a handsome man. I remember shopping for my wedding dress and being shocked that I liked the first one I tried on. I was by myself, actually, and had to call a friend to come and see it, because I doubted that I could really be choosing the first one I saw!
Due to the age of my eldest, I’ve found myself attending numerous weddings in the past year or so, and nothing beats the moment when the bride enters the room. I love watching the groom’s face to see the pleasure he expresses at that first glimpse of the one he’s chosen. Her dress reflects her status in life–white, clean and ready to be joined to her love.
There is another wedding that is coming up. I don’t know the exact date, but I know that preparations are being made as I write. The groom is certainly waiting in expectation, as the bride is preparing her trousseau. John talks about the joyous occasion:
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
When we, as God’s holy people, do those acts of good which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10), then we put one more stitch into the fine linen dress of the bride of Christ. That dress won’t get done until we finish the work God’s prepared for us to do. Am I working for the Kingdom? Do I realize that when I do good in the name of Christ, I’m speeding his return? We’re not just sowing seeds of the Gospel, but sewing a dress made for the Church.
What kind of dress are we making with our words, our deeds, our day-to-day routine? Do we drop a stitch by neglecting to give that cup of cold water in Jesus’ name? Or, have we slowed the process by acting, but not in righteousness?
I want to be a good seamstress for the Church. I want to see my Savior’s face when the Church rises to meet him and know that I played a part in the pleasure he shows. What about you?
Grace and Peace