The Church As the Bride of Christ

Revelation 19:7-8

7  Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8  it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. [ESV]

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are the bride of Christ. As such you should look with great anticipation for the day when you will be united with the Bridegroom. Until that day comes you are to remain faithful to Him but what does it mean to remain faithful to Christ? The beautiful wedding dress- “fine linen, bright and pure” in verse 8 speaks of righteous living and we know that to be a life lived in holiness, goodness, love, and truth. CS Lewis writes of what he calls the four cardinal virtues. Today we may see them as being out of style but as you take time to ponder what Lewis says and understand how this relates to being the bride of Christ who is clothed in fine linen let the true meaning of these virtues sink into your thought process. The first virtue is Fortitude which is the kind of courage that faces danger as well as the kind that “sticks with it” under pain. The second is Justice which is more like fairness- including honesty, give and take, truthfulness, keeping promises. The third is Temperance which today is thought of as abstaining from drink but actually is temperance to all pleasures- not abstaining but going to the right length and no further. Lastly Lewis writes the fourth virtue as Prudence which is common sense, taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is likely to come of it.

Food for Thought:

1.     Can you see being a disciple of Christ involves living a life that is holy to God?

2.     That the sin nature in you naturally wants to do the opposite of what Lewis speaks of and you must work at a virtuous life?

3.     As you begin to discipline yourself with fortitude, justice, temperance, and prudence you will train yourself to live in a manner that is holy, good, loving and truthful all which are acceptable to the Bridegroom when He comes for you.

Today as you spend time with God in prayer, think of how you are to live your life, reflecting Christ living in you. Rejoice as one waiting for Christ, the Bridegroom knowing you are the Bride, dressed in white, pure, holy and seeking Him. As you are doing this, think of the following verses in Romans 12.

1 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. [The Message]

Source: Mere Christianity; CS Lewis