Random Things

***This was posted yesterday on my pastor's wife's facebook page. She wrote this and I just wanted to pass it along.***

Hmmmm...a spotless bride. What does that mean? Has anyone watched any good BRIDE shows lately? On occasion, Sarah and I will catch one together and dream of her special day. Unfortunately, as we watch these shows I have to edit out the profanity...and the fact that the bride is anything but innocent...and the wedding dress leaves nothing to the imagination... and in some cases the couple has already been living together. We try to look past all of the stains and wounds that this unGodly world has left on God's beautiful picture of what a bride was planned to be...before we turn the channel.

Our daughters deserve the entire dream: the icing and the cake. They should get the sparkling, white dress: white because of their innocence not because of their color preference. They should have the Godly, young groom ready to take care of his bride for the rest of her life smiling at the end of the aisle waiting for her to become his. They should experience the delight of the honeymoon experience sharing the beauty of first-time intimacy with a husband that has been equally committed to being pure before marriage. What is wrong with this picture? This is how God intended marriage to be. It seems almost foreign today...and is often mocked by this world.

I praise God that He forgives us when fail Him. I am thankful for His grace. I am overwhelmed that He can wash away our shame and mistakes and sin. I am also thankful that because I am saved...because He gave Himself in one horrible death...that I am changed. I can put on my spotless, white gown and be ready for my groom when He returns to take His spotless bride home. As a mom, having experienced this great salvation, I am even more committed to pass on this beautiful love story to my daughters and my son. I must fight the world's definition of beauty and happiness. I must help steer my children toward God's purpose for their lives: to live holy like our amazing Savior. His Word is clear. He is coming back for a spotless bride...one without stain...spot or blemish. I want Him to be able to look into the mass of His sons and daughters...those that have accepted Him...and see them living pure, spotless lives for Him...excited and ready for their BIG day! Instead, I fear that He will have to really look hard to find his church mixed-in with all of the darkness of this world. Our call is to live different..not to live as close as possible to the world....but as close to Jesus as possible. Our call is to say NO to the movies that defame His name and His way of life. Our call is to dress ourselves in modesty and purity. Our call is to carry His glory. Imagine that.... carrying the glory of God through our lives and dress and conversations and hobbies.

In the Old Testament, often the temple of God became a place of sin. In the New Testament, it was one of Christ's ambitions to clean up the temple. In many foreign countries, there are traces of a former religion that can be seen in the beautiful, old buildings that were once Houses of God. Even in God's House today, where we are called to be a Temple of the Holy Spirit, there are only traces of whom God has called His people to be marred with the marks and fashions of this world.

Thinking about that white, sparkling wedding dress...my heart is so grieved. How can I represent Christ to my daughters in this atmosphere? How can I show them that God's call to holiness is not about atiquated rules and law! His call to holiness is about beauty, freedom, innocence, love, purpose and purity. God will look past an unholy church. That fact may seem scary and move some to action. For me, it is a matter of pleasing my Father. I understand His sacrifice and my responsibility to lead my children in lives of holiness. On their wedding day, I want each to experience God's promise of the beauty of the marriage covenant. I commit myself to setting an example for them. We have a great influence over our daughters and sons. My prayer is that we all can say, "follow me as I follow Christ." We can do it! Our children deserve all that God has planned for them! We belong to Him...His spotless bride.