"Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright & pure" - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints."
(Revelation 19:7-8)
THE END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR! (At least people enjoy speculating about it, don't they? See the #1 film in the box office this weekend as proof - '2012') The book of Revelation surely doesn't shy away from dealing with THE END of all things. And although there are moments of fire-n-brimstone, the actual culmination of it all takes a decidedly different feel - a wedding!
Jesus... the Lamb who was slain for the sins of the world.. returns in gloyr, like a groom awaiting his bride. The church (or, more specifically, the faithful!) is the bride - in all her radiant splendor - prepared for her wedding day. We're told she's "clothed with fine linen"... and find out that linen is "the righteous deeds of the saints."
So picture the scene... the bride is standing still... dressed so beautifully... and her face beaming from ear to ear... just glowing! She's waiting for her groom to come to her... anticipating the union... just moments away from being bound together in love for all time.
As Christians, it's our faith in Christ, not anything we have to "do" to cement our role as the bride. So no matter what the bride is wearing, there's a deeper joy that radiates through. It's a bonus that she's dressed in beautiful white linen... for that's the result of a lifetime of righteousness. Nor perfection... just righteousness. Again, it didn't earn the engagement... it was a result of that love affair we have with the groom.
Jesus welcomes us into His eternal embrace whether we've spent our entire lives serving him faithfully... or if we accepted his proposal after years and years of hard living. But what a blessing to have spent as much time as possible doing what was right! The world will be a happier & more peaceful place when it's surrounded by fine white linen... don't you think?!
No comments:
Post a Comment