Say Yes To the Dress!

Scripture:

Rev. 19:6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out,
    “Hallelujah!
    For the Lord our God
        the Almighty reigns.
Rev. 19:7     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;
Rev. 19:8     to her it has been granted to be clothed
        with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
Rev. 19:9 ¶ And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

Observation:

The invitation is being prepared for the marriage supper of the Lamb. The bride is readied for the wedding, being clothed “with fine linen, bright and pure.” And this linen consists of “the righteous deeds of the saints.” The bridal gown has been made pure and white by the blood of the lamb. It is Christ’s holiness which has cleansed the clothing of the bride so that she is draped in the glory of his holiness. Now she is prepared to respond to the invitation and is ready to participate in the “marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Application:

Here we discover an understanding that we need to be dressed and prepared for the wedding! It’s amazing to me these days at the incredible variety that we discover at weddings. The bride might be arrayed in many colors and/or styles. However, here in Revelation we find that the bride is to be dressed in “fine linen, bright and pure,” and this is then described as “the righteous deeds of the saints.” It seems that throughout our Christian journey, as we participate with Christ, we take on the very behaviors and attitudes of Christ. In doing so we begin to act more and more like him. At some point we no longer know whether we are imitating Christ or whether it is Christ seen in us. Therefore these righteous deeds are those which we do as we clothe ourselves with Christ’s holiness. These are his holy and sanctified followers, those who make up the Church.

For us to participate in the great “marriage supper of the Lamb” we must be prepared. This preparation includes saying “yes to the dress!” While the television program with this name is about brides out looking for just the right dress for a wedding, the right dress has already been prepared for you and me. The problem lies in the fact that we may be saying yes to the wrong dress! In fact, we may be so attracted to the things of the world that we may be saying yes to the dresses that we think look good on us while they are missing the fine linen — “pure and bright” which comes to us only from and through Jesus Christ.  God, however, will not accept any imitations. The only acceptable wedding garb is that which comes from the one who has been made clean in the blood of the Lamb and then has continued to live within the “righteous deeds of the saints.” In other words, the dress reflects the very nature of Jesus Christ. This is what happens when we live as God’s holy people.

Saying yes to the dress may involve a deeper commitment to the faith than you have been willing to accept at this stage in your life. Unfortunately other dresses, no matter how attractive, will not be acceptable at the wedding feast. Why not wholly commit ourselves to Jesus — say “yes to the dress” and be clothed in his beauty! The day is coming when the invitations will be sent out and you will want to be prepared. Say yes to the dress!

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your salvation and for the way in which you are working in our lives.  Amen.