And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Revelation 19:8
I have grown in my love for reading. That might sound strange for a writer, but I have always struggled with sitting still and doing “nothing.” It seems like reading a book sometimes is sitting and doing nothing. I’m working on that! I’ve been reading Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven for the past few years. LOL I just picked it up again, and every time I do I am blessed.
In the chapter, “How Will We Worship God?” he talks about Christ and his bride and uses the illustration of the bride preparing her wedding dress. Now most of you ladies are probably like me and did not sew your wedding dress, but I do sew somewhat, and I do remember making a veil for my daughters wedding—painstakingly sewing beads onto it to make it look like snowflakes because she was getting married in the winter.
Mr. Alcorn says that the above verse is describing the picture of that bride preparing her dress, and it is prepared by her acts of righteousness, “every prayer, each gift, each hour of fasting, each act of kindness to the meeting, all of these are the threads that have been woven together into this wedding dress.”
He ends with this statement: “The imagery is beautiful but potentially disturbing. A pure bride doesn’t want to appear scantily clad at the altar before her beloved bride groom and a multitude of guests. But if she has been diligent to prepare, her dress will be substantial and complete.”
How are you sewing? The thought of being unprepared or presenting myself before my Savior in anything less than my best breaks my heart. We also have the image of crowns that we are earning to cast at his feet, but this picture of the wedding dress hit a chord in my heart. I think of the love of a bride for her groom. I think of all the eye and thought for detail that the bride puts into her special day. Can you think with me to that moment when we will walk the aisle of heaven to our perfect bride groom and gaze into his eyes? Can you imagine doing so in a ratty, ragged dress, the garment that is the one garment which stands out as the most elaborate clothing I will ever wear? It sounds like a nightmare.
How are you sewing? Does this image give you a new perspective on how you spend your time? It has me. I want to be busy about my Lord’s work, and I’m so thankful for this image that God has given us in his word.
Beyond Common Sense 