Washed & Wearing White for the Wedding

Matthew 22:11-13
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?'
The man was speechless.
"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Do I approach my relationship with Christ casually? Have I become so comfortable with Christ that I have forgotten His demand for purity and perfection (Mt. 5:48)? The man in this parable arrogantly showed up to the king's wedding banquet in the equivalent of blue jeans and a tee-shirt, unclean, unkempt and improper for such an exclusive and extravagant event. He heard the invitation but did not know the host. He believed hearing and answering the invitation was enough to privilege him to the banquet. But Christ expects so much more from the guests at His wedding banquet with His bride, the church (Rev. 19:7-8). He expects us to, by faith, be robed in Christ and His righteousness (Gal. 3:27). He expects us to put off our old way of living and put on the very nature, character and attributes of Jesus Christ (Col. 3:9-12). The expectation is clear, I must purify and prepare myself for that great day when I will stand before my beloved Savior and present myself to Him without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish (Eph. 5:27). To show up in any other way would be to demonstrate my disregard for or my lack of intimacy with Christ. To know Him and to love Him is to purify myself and prepare myself for eternity with Him.

Jesus - I love You. Help me to purify and prepare myself each day for your return. Let me be ready for the great wedding banquet of the Lamb. Let me be found washed and wearing white that I may be presented to You as a radiant gift, wholly pleasing to You. Amen.

"My Jesus, I Love Thee"
William R. Featherston, 1864

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.



Revelation 19:7-8
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.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

Galatians 3:27 "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."

Colossians 3:9-10 & 12
since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator....
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Ephesians 5:27
"to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

Matthew 25:10,13
"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.... Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."