On the last New Year's day, I was celebrating being married to my wife for 30 years. I can still remember how she looked when she entered the doorway at the rear of the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church in Murray, KY. She was (and still is) the most beautiful woman in the world! Dressed in a gorgeous white dress she had chosen herself for that day. Everything about her was perfect; her hair, her makeup, and her shoes. Fresh and new, except for the something borrowed, especially for that day. She had made that day not only a special day for her, but for me, her groom. Even after the wedding and reception, she continued to try to keep the dress clean and unblemished by lipstick and punch because the dress itself was very special to her. The dress was not just any dress, it was the dress she wore to make the covenant to me and to God to remain pure and faithful till one of us is put in the ground. That makes it very special. Even though I looked forward to that day, I had little idea what her dress would look like and I never dreamed how beautiful she would look when she came to the altar to meet me. My knees still get as weak today as they did that day. She was beautiful and I had nothing to do with it except to be the motivation. I can't help but think about Jesus everytime I perform a wedding ceremony or reflect back to my own wedding because it causes me to realize even though I am a man, I am still a bride. The bride of Christ. The church, those who are believers in Christ, are the bride of Christ. The difference between me, a part of the bride, and my bride is that my bride prepared herself for me, but Christ is preparing His bride, the church, for Himself.
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the
church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with
the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she
should be holy and without blemish." Eph. 5:25-27 NKJV
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the
church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with
the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she
should be holy and without blemish." Eph. 5:25-27 NKJV
This has seemed to be a very troubling thought to me when I think about the actions of Christ's bride. I know my bride would never have put on her pure white dress and purposefully wallowed in a mud puddle or poured something on it to soil her garment. My concern is, why would the bride of Christ, intentionally soil her bridal clothes that Christ is preparing to be "without blemish"? I can understand sin that is committed by being "led away by his own desires and enticed." (James 1:14) This will usually lead to a repentant heart and undesirable consequences, even if the sin covers a long period of time. But I have a hard time understanding how believers will knowingly and proudly, even praising God for their position, claim God's desire for them to "be happy" and walk into sin like walking into a beautiful ocean surf, damaging everyone in their path because of their own selfish desires. This is the bride of Christ purposefully soiling her dress before the wedding!
"And to her (the bride of Christ) it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." Rev. 19:8 NKJV
If those who claim to be the bride of Christ continue to live apart from the teachings of God's Word, what will her dress of fine linen look like on the wedding day? It seems to me, the bride is soiling the garment as fast as the groom cleans it. It might make one wonder, if those who are part of the "bride" chooses to soil their garment, maybe they're not part of the "bride" to start with. If this is true, many have a greater problem than dirty clothes....they have no invitation to the wedding.
Something to think about.
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