KEY SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 10.5, Luke 9.23, Revelation 19.7

Heb 10.5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

Luke 9.23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Revelation 19.7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

RELEVANCE

Weddings are spectacular, and most of the fanfare revolves around the bride.

How long does it take a bride to make herself ready?

I've been married for 34 years (nearly 34.5, but who's counting). I vividly recall the wedding morning. My best man and I were in a motel room putting on our hired suits after a shower and shave. Haircuts had been done through the week, and within a half hour of walking into the room, we were ready for the church.

The preparation of my wife-to-be was vastly different. Her hair took forever; make-up was another level, and then there was the dress and the floral bouquet. Ultimately, my beautiful bride looked magnificent and still does today. But even arriving at that point took weeks to put in order. 

Our Revelation key verse says and his wife (bride-to-be) hath made herself ready. So, how are you preparing for your wedding with Jesus Christ? What special or extra things are you doing to ensure you are ready?

The Old Testament sacrifices generally consisted of a lamb (for instance) checked by the priesthood for faults, then slaughtered, drained of blood, dissected if required, and placed on the Altar of Sacrifice. Although steeped in New Testament mystery, the process was simple.

Quite differently, our sacrifice happens daily, hourly, and minutely upon every decision of self-denial, working our way into personal insignificance. We slaughter everything not of Christ, afflicting our souls through self-sacrifice until doing so becomes a joyous behaviour.   

Our three key verses speak of preparation—making ourselves ready for our wedding! Jesus is ready and trying to prepare us through the workings and obedience of the Holy Spirit, as a good wife should be, suitable to wear white, the colour of holy matrimony.

White signifies so much in an honourable wedding—a righteous wife, a holy wife, wholly given to her husband. 

Through the blood and callings of Jesus Christ, God draws us to a life of faithfulness, where intermittent sins and faults drop off as we fall more in love every day, choosing the one-way life of a spouse.

The world is full of temptations. We can identify many from reading our Bibles and our active spiritual senses, but the small, subtle calls of the tempting sirens are harder to recognise.

Our Lord wants ALL to go until we live a life of complete submission to our Saviour—the sacrifice of the saints or holy ones. 

PRAYER

Dear Lord, I often wonder how anyone could betray your love and then find myself slipping up again, doing exactly that. Please draw me so close to thee that we are one body of love.