Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb

Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb. 

Doesn’t it feel wonderful to receive a wedding invitation?   The couple wants you to share in their big day!   So you put the date on your calendar.   You start thinking about what you will wear.   You make travel arrangements and begin to look for an appropriate gift.   As the event gets closer, you might even begin counting down the days.

In Scripture (Revelation 19:9) tells us that God is inviting us to a wedding—the “wedding feast of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).   This is no ordinary ceremony.   Scripture often uses marriage as a metaphor to describe God’s covenant relationship with his people, and the actual feast is seen as a description of the joy and celebration that await us in heaven.   This is the biggest invitation you could possibly receive: an eternal celebration with God and all the saints and angels!   So how will you respond?

Just as you would make arrangements for an earthly wedding, there are some preparations you’ll need to make for this one as well.

You might think that one of the biggest questions is what to wear.   Well, don’t worry about that one;  God has it taken care of.   Scripture tells us that he wants to clothe us with “gladness” and the “garments of salvation” (Psalm 30:12; Isaiah 61:10).   It says that he offers us “a bright, clean linen garment” of righteous deeds (Revelation 19:8).   And importantly, it warns us to make sure we come to his feast properly dressed (Matthew 22:11-12).

So how do you get hold of this outfit?   Believe it or not, you already have it!   At your baptism, your parents put a white robe on you as a symbol of how God had washed away original sin and clothed you with Christ.   You were then told that this robe was “the outward sign of your Christian dignity,” and you were exhorted:  “With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven” (Rite of Baptism).

So there you have it: an invitation to a never-ending wedding banquet, with your wardrobe already provided! Just make sure you keep that robe as clean as possible.

Word Among Us