Last week I got a save the date postcard in the mail. This wedding will be held very near to my own anniversary which got me thinking. Planning a wedding is a lot of work. There are so many preparations for the bride to make. There’s a lot to think of and every decision is made very carefully. First, there’s THE DRESS, then somewhere along the way the bride chooses her hairstyle, nails, makeup, undergarments, jewelry, and THE SHOES. So far all the effort I’ve mentioned is only on her adornment. Doesn’t every bride want to be beautiful to her husband?
Then I got to thinking of the church as the bride of Christ, and me as a member of that church. How am I preparing for the wedding day? How am I adorning myself? God’s word* says that for a woman to adorn herself with a gentle and quiet spirit and good works is precious in His eyes. Okay, WOW. I'm just going to let this sink in.
I’ve also been thinking a lot lately of what it will be like when I finally meet God face to face. I know that I am not even worthy to cower at His feet, but thanks to the blood of Jesus I believe that I will someday stand before Him unashamed and guiltless. Like an engaged woman, I sometimes get butterflies in my tummy. Not from fear; rather, from excitement.
Sometimes I am baffled that He CHOSE me, but I am so grateful that He did. I will do whatever I can to prepare myself to be beautiful to Him. This will take effort, but won’t it be worth it? Can you imagine what a reception in the King’s court will be like? I hope to see you there. We can celebrate together.
* I Peter 3:3-4, I Tim 2:9-10
I just read this today. Here's a quote from Paul Tripp. "Sin produces the tendency to forget who we are (betrothed to Christ); what he is doing now (preparing us for the final wedding); and what we are supposed to be doing (remaining faithful to Him). A common factor in depression is self-absorbed now-ism. Anger is often fueled by a self-righteous now-ism. Fear and anxiety are strengthened by an obsession with the here and now. Maturity and perseverance are weakened by a "now" mentality... We foget that God's primary goal is not changing our situations and relationships so that we can be happy, but changing us through our situations and relationships so that we will be holy." I want to quote the whole book. This one is really deep. I've been reading it for months. The title is Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful...I need to meditate on this for a moment...thanks for this...needed to hear it (over and over again)
ReplyDeleteWow. GREAT thoughts that I really needed to hear!!
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