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.)
Revelation 19:7-8
There is that moment at a wedding when all the guests anxiously await the entrance of the bride. The door opens, and all eyes are on the bride.
Imagine the guests gasping in disbelief as the bride makes her entrance and walks down the aisle. Her hair is not fixed, and her wedding dress is stained. It is apparent to everyone, especially the groom, that the bride didn’t care enough to be ready for the wedding.
God has scheduled the wedding of all weddings. Jesus, the Bridegroom, is coming again for the Church, collectively referred to as his bride.
Are you ready for the wedding? Or are you taking it lightly?
Jesus desires that we accept His invitation. He has given his bride fine linen, bright and clean, to wear.
One of the biggest challenges for Christians is being distracted while waiting for the return of Jesus. If we are not careful, the delay of the return of Jesus can make us forget we are his bride. Forget whose we are, why we are here, and where we are headed.
Does a young woman forget her jewelry, or a bride her wedding dress? But my people have forgotten me for more days than can be counted.
Jeremiah 2:32
Treating lightly God’s return or ignoring it altogether lulls us to complacency, unpreparedness, spiritual drowsiness, and slumber. Jeff Kinley writes in Wake the Bride:
Because we can’t schedule Scripture’s predictions like we do Christmas and Easter, the average believer struggles to embrace them. We talk about “signs of the times” and use words like rapture, tribulation, and last days, but all too easily relegate them to that mental file marked “Complicated,” “Too Much Mystery,” or “Above My Spiritual Pay Grade.” And though we may profess belief in their certain and eventual fulfillment, we fail to understand their relevance to our lives today because they seem so foggy and far off.
Having coordinated several weddings, every detail of the wedding ceremony is important to the bride. The bride often finds herself so lost in the details that her focus on Jesus and the marriage have become an afterthought.
Grasping every detail about the return of Jesus is not necessary to live as His Bride. What you should know is that we were made for another wedding. God had us in mind as His Bride when Jesus died on the cross. His death was the highest imaginable price paid for us to know how much He loved us.
Prayer: Jesus, You can come at any moment. Forgive me for living as if I’ve forgotten about you and forgotten about the wedding. Help me to not be so preoccupied or distracted with my life here and now. Help me to allow the Holy Spirit to present me to you as a glorious bride.
If you are interested in learning more about being breathtaking as his bride, I am incredibly excited to invite you to – Say Yes to His Dress Workshop – to be held at the Historic Oakland, an elegant wedding venue on Sunday, November 18th at 3:00p.m. You don’t want to miss this workshop!
Click here on our workshop page for further details about the workshop and how to register.