Skip to main content

A Beautiful Bride



            When the apostle John was looking for a way to describe the relationship between Christ and his church, the comparison he most often used was that of a bride and a groom.  That makes sense to me, because it speaks of things like love, faithfulness and trust.  However, in Revelation 19, he points out a few other details which are worth noticing.

            “For the wedding of the Lamb [Jesus] has come, and his bride has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints)” (verses 7-8).

            The line that caught my attention in that passage was the one that said, “His bride has made herself ready”.  That sounds a little odd, doesn’t it?  I mean, I am used to hearing that there is not much for me to do.  God has done the work of salvation through his son’s death on the cross and all I have to do is accept that gift.

            Now, all of that is true, but so is the fact that the bride is to make herself ready.  How does she do that?  Well, John spells that out for us too by describing the bride as wearing this beautiful clothing and then he points out, just in case we do not understand, that the “fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints”. 

            Do you see what he is saying?  Our actions count, but maybe not in the way you think they do.  You see, our good and righteous acts do not earn us anything.  Our good and righteous acts do not “make us the bride of Christ”.  We are his bride because he has loved us and chosen us.  However, our good and righteous acts are important because they beautify us to Christ and to others.

            Over the years, I have conducted a lot of weddings.  Each one is unique and each one is special, but they all have one thing in common:  The bride always looks beautiful!  The groom is about a 50/50 shot (some of them clean up well and others, not so much), but the bride always looks lovely.  A lot of thought goes into the dress that she will wear. Her hair is done just the way that she wants it.  Often, her make-up and even her shoes have been chosen with great care.  The bride is beautiful because she has made an effort to be so.

            As Christians, we would do well to think about how we act and how we present ourselves.  A little thought and care may go a long way. 
 
            After all, everyone smiles when they see a beautiful bride.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: A Path Worth Following

  Jehoram was a terrible king.  He reigned in Judah around the year 850 B.C. and he did not care about God or his people.  His first act as king was to assassinate his six brothers so that no one could challenge his authority.  He was brutal and selfish.   Therefore, when the Bible sums up his life, it says, “Jehoram… passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David” (2 Chronicles 21:20).  Did you catch that?  “To no one’s regret!”  What a terrible phrase for your tombstone. On the other hand, consider a lady named Tabitha.  She lived in the city of Joppa in the first century A.D. and we are told, “… she was always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36).  She became sick and died.  This caused the community so much grief that they called Peter, who was in the nearby town of Lydda, to come and help them.  When Peter arrived, a crowd gathered, bringing all the robes and other clothing that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Press The Button!

  Consider This:  Press the Button! My favourite TV game show is Jeopardy.  I used to like it even more when my kids were younger, because I could easily beat them and look smart.  These days, after they have grown up and gone to university, it is much more difficult.  However, Jeopardy is still the only game show I will watch. In a book I read, a contestant who did very well on the show shared the secret to his success.  He said (and I am paraphrasing here), “You must press the button before you know the answer.  Everyone on Jeopardy is smart. Everyone knows the answer. The key to winning is to act.  You must jump in and press the button, assuming that your brain will catch up and supply the answer.  If you wait until you are sure, you will be too late!” Press the button! Too often, we hesitate, not because we do not know what to do, but because we do not want to do it.  Sometimes, we fail to act because we are not sure how the situatio...
Post a Comment
Read more