Revelation 19:7-8 NLT
[7] “Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. [8] She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”

Her wedding day has finally arrived. After many months of planning and preparation, she is ready to don her wedding gown, the centre and focal point of her adornment for that day.

Her hair has been washed and styled, her jewellery in place but, without her wedding gown, she is not yet the perfect bride.

Imagine the anticipation as the bridegroom awaits her arrival! He strains for a glimpse of his beloved, walking slowly, steadily up the aisle towards Him on the arm of her Father.

His first glimpse is a vision of snowy white, signifying her purity as she has guarded her body for Him alone. Slowly, she moves up the aisle towards Him; the vision of her beauty takes shape and form.

On the day of their betrothal, He gave her the bridal gown, a perfect fit, unblemished, a replica of His vision for her. “Adorn it,” He said,
“with the jewels and embroidery that speak of who you are.”

The interval between their betrothal and their wedding day was not to be wasted. It was to be a time of perparation. She was to set herself apart from all other men. She was to close her door to those who once sort her as a prospective bride. She was betrothed to one lover and all her love and attention was to be on Him.

She was to spend the interim preparing her bridal gown. She was to work tirelessly on her garment ofcl righteousness, embroidering her life with the adornments of good works and righteous living in obedience to her Beloved.

“For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”

Her gown was breathtakingly beautiful. Gold and silver flowers with glittering centres, fruit of a myiad hues, and creatures alight with jewelled eyes, danced around the billowing skirt. Her semi-translucent veil only faintly hid the gleam of passionate love in her eyes. The train of her garment, littered with gems of every colour and hue, flowed out behind her like a gentle stream.

Every stitch of gold and silver spoke of her chaste and purposeful life as she awaited her wedding day. She longed to be worthy of the love her Beloved poured upon her day after day as they prepared for their union.

She spent many hours stitching into her wedding gown the story of her love for to Him. She crafted in gold and silver the fruit of His spiritual gifts she freely gave to others, the evidences of loving service and generosity to the needy, the hours she spent building into others the treasures of His Word.

Her gown was a library of tales of faith, hope, and love. Her heart pounded inside her with anticipation of His joy when He was finally satisfied with the fruit of His love for her.

The many attempts to embroider the perfect flower, to depict the vigour and energy of the creatures replicated in every stitch, the time spent in setting every scene alight with colourful gems, was worth the pain and toil to see His face.

The wedding gown had done its work well. It had told her story of commitment, perseverance, and faithful service. Its beauty had mirrored the beauty of her heart as He read all the details in its adornment. She was truly His and His alone. He knew that, what she had written of her preparation for that day in her wedding gown, would continue forever in her eternal union with Him.

As I have worked on my bridal gown for many years, there have been spots and wrinkles to deal with if I am to be to Him the perfect bride He has made me to be. How can I present myself to Him with the fabric of my gown smudged and blottted by sin and disobedience? How can I cleanse away the dirty spots that spoil the pure unblemished white of the His righteousness He gave me?

No soap or detergent can restore the purity of His gown. My sin needs the only cleansing agent that can restore my gown to perfection.

1 John 1:7, 9 NLT
[7] “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin….
[9] But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

There is only one way to stay pure and to wash away all unrighteousness…the powerful cleansing blood my Bridegroom Himself, shed for me. His own blood has washed me clean of all the spots and blemishes I inflicted on my gown. It is possible, then by His grace alone, to meet His expectations on that glorious day. We shall come face to face and He will carry me over the threshold into the bridal chamber to become one with Him forever.