What Will The Bride Look LIke When The Bridegroom Returns?
I can remember how I saw my bride on my wedding day. Beautiful. White dress. Pure.
The Church is described as the beautiful bride of Christ in the scriptures. Will Christ find her that way when He returns? Some fight over what version is right and which version is wrong. Fighting goes on over how to do worship, what women can do, how many elders to have, what elders should do, if there should be fellowship halls or not, gyms or not, power point should be used or not, what color the carpet should be. Fights, fights, fights. Splits. Splits. Splits happening everywhere. With every fight and with every split puts a bruise and blemish on the bride of Christ.
So how can we stop the fighting? How can we make peace? How can we focus more on loving our brothers and sisters who have different opinions than we do? How can we make make the bride of Christ look beautiful attractive instead of battered when the bride groom comes to get the bride on His wedding day?
What do you think?
Share your thoughts.
posted by preacherman @ 5:27:00 PM
21 Comments:
turn the focus back on Jesus!
i don't know what a power point is?
I did a series of lessons once on Falling In Love With The Lord. The last one was entitled Happily Ever After. I know that the beauty of the dress truly has nothing to do with the love of the groom but we,those of us who are women, try on hundreds of dresses just to find the one that will take his breath away--Revelation 19:7-8 says " . . .the bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean was given for her to wear, fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints"
Pretty cool---when He comes, we will look like HIS!
Peace
Neva
The bride will look just fine. It is the place where His people dwell in a forgiven state, having been made perfect by the blood of the bridegroom.
"How can we focus more on loving our brothers and sisters who have different opinions than we do?"
We all have different opinions, and always will have, but if I love my brothers and sisters I will not shove my personal opinions down their throat. We will often have to agree to disagree while still loving each other.
Great Post. I think God will see His bride as wearing white. But too many Christians tend to throw mud on the others...
Kinny I am afraid the bride/church may be bloodied and bruised, just as Jesus was when he left.
Jel, you are right we must focus on Jesus.
Neva,
Sounds like it was a great series. You make a great point.
Larry,
I appreciate your comments and opinions. I believe that and again I hate labels, but conserative and progress must love one another. We must strive for unity and love within the brotherhood of believers.
The question I have and struggle with is do we forget that is Christ church instead of ours. He purchased it. Bought it with His blood. Yes, thank God for forgivness and grace.
Does the letter of 1st John talk about the Church; and our state of walking like, being like, forgiveness of sins, loving like Christ and the assurance of salvation based on that love?
I believe God wants us to be stressing it now in all of our churches that it time stop fighting, fussing, over matters of opinion and start loving, forgiving and walking in the grace of the Lord.
Larry, thanks so much for this your comments and adding to this discussion. It is great to hear from you again brother!
Josh,
Thanks for your comments.
Yes we must stop the mud throwing.
We must start loving one another. I know we living in a state of Grace. Is it up to us to answer to prayer of Jesus in John 17:20-26? Jesus says in vs. 20-21" My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that they may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." I believe we must strive to answer the prayer of unity.
Josh, how can we do that, is it impossible or do you seeing it happening maybe through our generation, our childrens generation, our grand-childrens?
Laymond,
Thanks for adding to this discussion. Great point as long as the church is going to have sinners which it always will we will always have problems but yet the blood of cleans us, makes us pure. Great point.
The "church" on earth, the local church has in it many who are not Christians. There are imposters who can decieve "the very elect".
If a person consistently behaves in a manner unbecoming to one of God's children, even habitually attacking those who claim Jesus as Lord, that person is not saved.
None of us are completely pure and free of sins now but we are promised that those who have been born again will one day be presented "without spot or blemish" to Christ.
The old saying is true, "a hog returns to his wallow". But I insist that a sheep will not wallow in the mud.
Grace to you,
Royce Ogle
Royce,
Thank you for your comment and adding to this discussion. I respect your knowledge and widsom.
What do you think about think that it is possible for the fussing and fighting within the brotherhood to stop? How? When? Do you think it damages the church when Christians fight and think that they have all the answers? What message does it send to the world?
Again I appeciate your comments, wisdom and adding to the this discussion.
The church then will look perfect. 2 Corinthians 5:21 ... We will be "the righteousness of God." We will be perfect in His sight. Won't it be cool to hear Jesus say, "Father I'd like to introduce you to Kenny and Trey ... they are perfect."
All because of Jesus of course!
You are so right Trey.
To answer your question... I see the walls of the church coming down. I see my generation being more about faith than about denominations.
I see things getting better.
In our brotherhood, the fighting will not stop as long as some people continue to elevate traditions and personal preferences to the same level of authority as the Scriptures and then feel constrained to impose those practices on everyone else.
It will stop when Jesus comes. I remind you that in the first century there were the same sort of factions and fussing and fueding. ( I am of Paul, I am of Apollis, and I am of Christ.. Some tried to impose the circumcision upon believers, some tried to tell them what day to worship, what to eat, and on and on.)
Immature Christians who are not walking in the Spirit will always be focused on themselves as compared to others instead of being focused on Christ and His mission and comparing themselves to Him.
Grace to you,
Royce Ogle
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