I love weddings. A wedding is the culmination of the dating period and falling in love of two people who have decided to become “one.” It is always fun to finally see the bride’s dress, the colors she chose, the bridesmaid’s dresses, and the groomsmen all decked out in their attire. Everyone looking to watch this act of love in action. We all sit with anticipation for the service to start. And once they have pledged their love your focus then turns to the reception. What have they chosen as their wedding cake, what decorations will be tantalizing your eyes? Will the bride change into another dress? Some weddings are very Christ-centered in their delivery, while others are funny, and some are serious with lots of tears. Weddings I think are just fun, romantic, and lovely.

When there is a wedding taking place in a family the excitement level goes up the closer it gets to the wedding day, whether for the good or bad. Nerves can sometimes get the best of people and may even bring out the worst in them. But I think overall it is a happy excitement for most people. Lots of work and planning goes into weddings. Watching your child take that next step for parents brings joy.

So, where am I going with all this wedding talk? Let me first give you these scriptures: Revelation 19:6-8 “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like the peals of thunder, shouting: “Halleluiah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 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. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

The wedding that is about to take place that all of heaven is rejoicing and praising God for is the wedding of Christ’s return for His church (the Bride.) This is the culmination of history. Our Lord, the Lamb returning for His Bride and taking her to be with Him forever. He has given her time to prepare herself for this wedding. No more time will be given! The church, all those who have believed in Christ Jesus, and all those whose names are in the “Book of Life” will finally be face to face with their Savior for all eternity. Every person who has repented of their sins and been saved by the blood of the Lamb will be with him forever. The bride’s clothing is the righteousness of the saints.

We are not to get so caught up in the wedding, but the Groom, our Lord Jesus Christ. Our focus should be on Him. He is worthy of our worship. Jesus is the central focus of God’s redemptive plan, His coming for His bride is the culmination of all that has come before. This is when Jesus comes back in victory. All evil will be done away with. His bride will live with him for all eternity. As His bride, we are to be making ourselves ready. How do we do that? There will no longer be a second chance. You cannot say I need a few more minutes, no this is it! So, how do we prepare?

The first thing you need to do is search your heart, do you belong to Christ? Are all your sins covered by the blood of Jesus? If so, then how are you living? Does your life reflect the new life inside of you? As Christians, we need to live a life worthy of the calling. Every day we should be letting our light shine for Christ. We should be putting to death things like sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, covetousness, or idolatry. (Colossians 3:5-8) We also need to bridle our tongues. (James 1:26) You are not free to say whatever you want! We need to be quick to hear and slow to speak, slow to anger. (James 1:19-20) We are to be kind to one another, forgiving one another. (Ephesians 4:32) We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)
We are not to repay evil with evil, and we are to live peaceably with all men. We are to feed our enemy and give him a drink if he is thirsty. We are to overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21) We are to think about those things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, things worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8-9)

We need to read our bibles, pray, and seek God always. Love should be the central heartbeat of our lives. Our actions and reactions should be Christ-like. We should live lives obedient to God’s words and instructions. We need to be kind, compassionate, loyal, and full of the Fruits of the Spirit which are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) All this to say, we should not look or act like this sinful world. We have been set apart.

And when Jesus returns for us He needs to find us doing those things He has called us to do. We should be the living example of what the scriptures tell us to be and do. We should look and act a whole lot more like Jesus than anything else.

Before you can be a bride you will have had to say “yes” to the proposal. So, before you can be the Bride of Christ, You must have said yes to His free offer of salvation. Your sins must be covered by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus is the only way, have you said Yes to Him?

You must allow the Holy Spirit to transform you. Ephesians 5:25-27 says:
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

We need to put on the bridal dress, we need to live holy, obedient lives as we prepare ourselves for our groom. We do not earn the status of the bride by the good deeds, it is the response to our yes to Jesus. Good deeds and obedience, and our pure lives are just ways we prepare ourselves for when the bridegroom comes.

Because of the cross, Jesus’ blood that was shed for us; and our acceptance to come to Him for salvation is the only way we can become the bride of Christ. You must first say “yes” to Him, He is the only way. His name is Jesus!

COME LORD JESUS, COME! YOUR BRIDE IS WAITING!