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3. Joanne One Word 2016- 500x500-1

The two occasions on which I went bridal gown shopping (for daughters) were days I will always hold dear. There is something so special and beautiful and sacred which surrounds a woman in a wedding gown.

Is it the whiteness of the gown which stands in stark contrast to all other colors?

Is it the richness of fabrics not typically worn on other occasions?

Or is it because this is the “once upon a time day” which every little girl waits for and longs for?

The last few days I have found myself wondering what Christ will see when He returns for His Bride. We, the Church – His Church – together, comprise His Bride.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”
(Ephesians 5:25-27, NIV)

As a bride, our desire is for our gown to fit properly, falling so that every embellishment reflects light and glistens. We take pains to arrive to the ceremony without causing any creases or wrinkles to form, so that we walk down that aisle in perfection to our husband.

“The ultimate aim in view when Christ gave himself up for the church was that at the end of the age he might be able to present her to himself in unsullied splendor as a bride adorned for her husband.”
(The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11, page 77)

Unsullied. Not a word commonly used. Totally unsoiled or untarnished.

And here’s the thing …

Christ desires a clean Bride. He offers us His righteousness. Satan, on the other hand, will try to make us feel unclean. Through the power of His Blood and His Word, He Himself keeps us holy and without fault. The Cross is the completed work of Christ.

May we rise up and be the Bride Christ is longing to one day see …

“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.”
(Revelation 19:7, NIV)

 

 

Today I am joining … Weekend Whispers and Faith ‘N Friends .