The Wedding

Have you ever arranged a wedding or been involved with wedding arrangements?  Your own maybe.  Maybe your sister.  Maybe a friend.  It doesn't matter whose wedding it was, I am sure you can remember the frantic planning.

Many a dress will be tried on and only one will be good enough.  It has to be just right.  It has to fit perfectly.  Some dresses are embroidered and sequenced by hand - a job that takes weeks of dedication.  Wedding dresses are frequently adjusted a few times before the big day.  Weight is a terrible thing.  It can fluctuate in such a stressful period!

The shoes, oh the shoes.  They must look like the shoes of a princess but fit as comfortably as slippers.  Pretty enough to walk down the isle, nice enough to dance in.  High heels or low heels?  Choices, choices.

The hair has to be planned.  There must be a trial run.  After all, who wants to end up with a bad hair day on the day of the wedding?  The hairdresser must have nerves of steel.  There are few people as difficult as a bride to be.  Small flowers or a tiara?  Difficult decision.  Poor hairdresser.  Just when the hairdo is figured out, the veil is remembered and everything starts again.

Don't forget the make-up.  Make-up has evolved into a full time business for people who have the patience to deal with one bride after the other.  Is it patience or is a masochistic disorder?  I don't know - I can't decide.  One bride wants as natural as possible, the next one wants to look like the millennium diva.  Flaws have to be covered and cheek bones must be enhanced.

The outfits of all the other people involved are planned too.  Mother should wear this.  Father must please not wear that.  Sister must have her hair like this.  Brides.  Difficult.  Persistent.  Demanding.

But on the big day, the bride is always the most beautiful.  And so it should be.

Why am I rambling on about brides and weddings today?  I had a chat with a very good friend yesterday.  He told me about his daughter's wedding that is coming up.  And the conversation turned to the bride of Christ.  We plan so much and spend so much on a earthly wedding, but what are we, as the bride of Christ, doing for our spiritual wedding that is fast coming up?

Are we as concerned about our wedding dress as the young bride due to walk down the isle in April?  I think not.  Our dress is dirty with sin.  Tattered because of carelessness.  Our hair is still a mess - we haven't even thought about it.  We are still bare-feet - no shoes yet.

We need to wake up and prepare for eternity.  It's not good enough to go to church.  It's not good enough to live exemplary lives.  It's not good enough to give tithes and offerings.  It's not good enough to pray now and then.  Listen to this scripture:
Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Has this scripture puzzled you?  How could Jesus say He never 'knew' them?  This word in the original Greek speaks of intimacy.  With other words: "You went to church, you paid your tithes, you sang when the worship team sang, you did all the right things, you even prophesied, but you were never intimate with me".

Are you intimate with your Lord and Savior?  When last have you been? When last did you really spend quality time with God?  When last did you really take the time to wait on Him and hear His voice?  When last?

Are you ready to meet your Bridegroom?  He is coming soon!