Little girls often play “dress up” and pretend to be a bride with a beautiful white gown and flowers in their hair. Teenagers often fantasize about one day walking down the aisle to marry their prince charming. A young woman in love dreams, plans, and prepares for the greatest day of her life when she will walk down the aisle in white. She immediately begins the search for “just the right dress” and is so ecstatic to be able to say “Yes to the dress.” For months, her every waking moment is focused on the details of her wedding—she must choose her bridesmaids, her décor, flowers, favors, the guest list, and on and on it goes—and rightfully so; it is the grandest day of her life. In the weeks and months of planning, she dreams of becoming a bride to her true love. Everything must be perfect for this special day.

When we have found “the love of our life,” we live to be with him or her, we desire to please them, and our thoughts and love are devoted to him. We don’t flirt with others and make advances toward them. We keep ourselves for the one we love.

How like the Christian life is the bride’s preparation. We, as Christians, are betrothed to Christ through salvation, and we long for the day we will be with Him in our new home. As a bride longs for and prepares for the day of her wedding, we ought to be planning and preparing to be with Christ, our bridegroom. A bride planning for her wedding would never be satisfied with a dress that was soiled and torn. Her dress must be clean and pressed and in immaculate condition. Yet, in this life, we, as the bride of Christ who look forward to being with Him in glory, are often careless and lackadaisical in the way we live. Instead of keeping ourselves pure and undefiled from the world, we flirt with the world in our dress, our activities, and our manner of living. So many Christians today have become more like the world than like Christ.

The Bible says to “take heed to yourselves.” Consider your life now in view of that moment when we will meet our Savior face to face and be joined to Him forever. Are your garments clean and white? Are you living for the Savior and not your own fleshly desires? If today were the day we would see our bridegroom, would you be ashamed?

In I Peter 1:15, we are commanded to be holy in all manner of conversation.” Of course, we know that the word “conversation” here means manner of living. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Are we reflecting our love for our Lord in our thoughts, our words, our dress, our activities—in whatsoever we do? Are we reflecting our Savior, or are we reflecting the world?

Often you hear young people say, “What’s wrong with doing that?” The real question should be for all our activities, “What is right with that?” Ephesians 5:10 says, “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.“

“Wherefore, beloved … be diligent that ye may be found of him … without spot, and blameless.  II Peter 3:14

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Pat Carr, Administrative Assistant

Mrs. Carr was born and raised in San Francisco, where she was saved at the age of 11 at Calvary Baptist Church. She and her family have been members of North Valley Baptist Church since 1982. Mrs. Carr has worked in various ministries on the church staff since then. She is presently a typist for Pastor Trieber.