Ephesians 5:27 …so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
The idea of Christ coming for a bride without spot or wrinkle recently took on a deeper meaning.
I got the 911 call the afternoon before the wedding. My friend, whose daughter was getting married the next day, asked if I could help out. The seamstress had forgotten to steam the wedding dress. Could I come over and steam it? I had offered to help (thinking I could bake brownies or something), but steam the dress? Not only did I have no idea of how to do it, but I was petrified I might mess it up. But, “Sure, I’ll be right over,” I heard myself say..
My anxiety went from bad to worse. As I stood there gazing at the beautiful white dress, all I could focus on was the deep—and I mean deep—creases. After being instructed on how to use the hand-held steamer, I set to work. No matter how hard I tried, those creases seemed impenetrable. However, I cautiously continued, moving that steamer over the dress…front, back and sides. I prayed. I sprayed. Prayed and sprayed. Until finally, I could barely believe my eyes. The creases had vanished.
I couldn’t help but think of the scripture where Paul exhorts the church to holiness. He says Christ is returning for a bride without spot or wrinkle. Free from blemishes that distract from her beauty and purity. Creases that take far more than a steam cleaner to remove.
We are fallen. Stained with the marks of sin, crumpled by the bent of wanting our will, our way. Yet Christ loved the church so much that he gave himself up on her behalf. His sacrifice makes his bride not only clean, and creaseless, but splendid. I don’t understand how it works, but I believe with every fiber of my being it does. Because I’ve seen the changes.
The process may take a while, but as we yield ourselves to his cleansing, steaming work, we’ll one day look back and discover the creases we thought indelible have been removed, eternally removed.
So, friend, don’t resist his cleansing work. You have nothing to lose but a bunch of spots and wrinkles.