I remember the day I got married. I will never forget it. I was standing at the front of the church with my dad. (Both of our dads are pastors, so they conducted the wedding together.) Our family and friends filled the seats. My closest friends were there next to me. Teresa’s closest friends stood in beautiful dresses opposite the groomsmen on the stage. However, all attention was focused on the back.They were waiting on the bride.
Through the thin windows of the double doors of the auditorium I could see a stir of motion. Shapes and colors moved passed the glass. There was the black of her dad’s suit coat. There was the dress of an attendant helping the bride. With each movement my skin tingled with anticipation. My mouth was so dry. Would I be able to speak the words of promise we so carefully crafted.
Then I saw it; a flash of white; a glimpse of wedding gown. The doors swung open. The keyboard intoned the beginning of the bridal march. Everyone rose to their feet. The stood on their toes and craned their necks to see the Teresa in all her splendor.
She didn’t walk down the aisle. She floated with an angelic grace. The planet slowed in its rotation and time itself paused to watch her pass. Her hair terraced and wound to frame the elegant beauty of her face. Her gentle locks flowed over her sun speckled shoulders. The train of her gown flowed behind her as though she had glory to spare. She clutched an array of flowers before her, their delicate beauty merely clearing the way for the stunning vision that followed. We could only watch and bask in her beauty.
In Revelation 19 we are introduced to a beautiful bride who has made herself ready in a beautiful gown of fine linen. It is time for the wedding to begin. Ancient weddings began with a wedding feast, a marriage supper.
In this case, the groom is Jesus himself, and the bride is none other the church, the people of God. We are the radiant bride, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish (Eph. 5:27). And yet when we were first invited, we are described as “poor, crippled, blind and lame.” We are somehow transformed from wretched ugliness to splendid beauty.
Join us Sunday as we look at the fourth of Revelation’s seven incredible blessings.