June is the month for weddings. I started thinking about this for several reasons. Many of my patients are involved in service industries that cater to destination weddings and this is generally one of the busiest times of year for them; thus, the oil spill disaster has the potential to take a toll on a number of local folks. It has the potential to stain or pollute preparations for many local beach weddings and severely impact overall. The second motivator for my train of thought was a comment made by my best friend as we reflected on sin, specifically sexual sin, and its pollution of today's world. She said, " Well we know from our studies, that God is using this time in purifying his bride."
June is the month for weddings. And did you know girls, as the Bride of Christ (which is the church of believers), we are supposed to be making preparations for our wedding? It occurred to me that some of the struggles I am facing are part of God's purification process, but the preparations here on Earth are my responsibility. Here are some of the ways God is speaking to me about making sure his Bride is ready when the day of his return arrives.
1.
The first step is to know that you are supposed to making preparations.
I remember my wedding planning. I was very deliberate about it; I had a binder with all my contacts, clippings, and receipts. I gave attention to every detail. We were engaged for over a year and I remember that I grew weary of planning and at times wished we had just eloped. In Matthew 25 Jesus gives us the parable of the ten virgins. The ten took their lamps and went out to meet their bridegroom; he was a long time in coming and they all grew tired of waiting and fell asleep. Five were foolish and the other five were wise. Only 5 of them took oil in jars with them. The lamps signify the fact that once you are saved in Christ, you are like a lamp. (Matt 5:15, Luke11:33, Rev 11:4). You are meant to be a light to shine in a dark world and your righteousness signifies this light. Are you a light? Do you stand out from those around you? Are you assured of your salvation...do you know one day you
will meet your bridegroom? The oil signifies the Holy Spirit. Each day we are called to empty ourselves and be filled with the Spirit. This is a life long process of seeking God daily; you won't be able to do it at the last minute. The Holy Spirit needs to be your constant companion. Isaiah 61:10 "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a
bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." By seeking righteousness daily in your every day actions you will stand out in this world, like a bride adorned in shiny jewels. This kind of bling will get noticed! God is looking for people who are the real deal; they are the same everywhere they go and in every situation. God works to eliminate insincerity and hypocrisy in your character; like a refiner heats up metal and skims off the impurities. Your job is cooperate. I bear the marks to prove it. But because this refinement in character takes time, you have to be ready. "But while they (the fools) were on their way to buy oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut....Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."
2.
Be passionate for your groom.
The day you get married is a day full of emotion for brides. Love breeds the willingness to commit to a life long journey together. My commitment to Jesus isn't about religion; it is a love relationship. I love him because He does for me what I could never do for myself. You aren't supposed to be lukewarm about your groom on your wedding day; if you are, the wedding may never occur or the marriage may never reach its intended potential. The same is true as we prepare for our spiritual wedding. The Bride of Christ should be passionate about her groom; God does not want luke-warm believers who are always straddling the fence between living out the life Christ has planned and the one the world offers. We should not have to water down God's word or remove Christ from the center of a message to entice people to believe. God's word tells us in Revelation that churches who " are neither hot nor cold, who are lukewarm" in their deeds for Christ, are not palatable to God and "they will be spit out." People around you should be able to tell you have a passionate love relationship with Christ. How? Because your love has spurned you to commit your daily living to him even during the times you may not feel it. You do the right thing and know that the feelings will follow.
3.
Be aware of the ways our enemy seeks to stain or tarnish the Bride of Christ.
I believe that once you accept Christ as your Savior in your heart and confess it with your mouth wholeheartedly you are saved and sealed for the day of Redemption. The enemy therefore cannot take away your salvation. However, he can make you try and doubt it. If you doubt it, then you probably won't behave like you are saved. This is really what he is after. I believe he has and will do everything in his power to stain the Bride of Christ and tarnish her before her union with the Lamb. What better way to do this than with sexual sin? I have seen more infidelity and heard of more sexual immorality in the last several years than ever in my career. I'm not talking about non-believers here...I'm talking about church going, long time confessing believers. Why does the devil use sex? Because unlike other sin...it sticks. It will change you, it will tarnish you no matter what you want to believe at the time. Kinda like oily, sludgy, tarballs. 1st Corinth 6:17-18 MSG "Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy; the kind of sex that never can "become one"... There is a sense in which sexual sins are
different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own body." What a challenge in this world to raise sexually pure children! Sometimes it feels impossible. For man it is..but with God's help and obedience to his will to refine his Bride, it is possible. I need to believe this as I try to raise two young men in this culture.
Greg and I just celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. I was such a naive bride. However, I knew I loved Greg with all my heart and that it was God's plan for me to spend my life with him. I praise Him daily that He knew what has best for me and has used that union over time to make me more like Christ. A fore-taste of what God has planned for me!
