SR • January 2016
11
I’m a young woman with cable television, and
like many in my demographic, occasionally I get
sucked into watching bridal TV shows. Picking
out dresses and flowers, comparing styles and
services is fun. There are so many choices, and
as these women make decisions about how to
spend their budget, or which dress will wow the
best, they stress and worry and wonder if they’ll
ever make it down the aisle. At the end of pretty
much every show, though, there’s a wedding
where a happy bride and groom look glowingly
into one another’s eyes and declare the day a
success. All the stress was worth it. The momen-
tary joy allows even the most overwhelmed
brides to forget the trials of the months before.
Even the most difficult families seem to come
together for the celebration.
As I indulged myself one evening, and a bride
talked about how long she had waited for this
celebration, I was reminded of the story of the
empty lamps in Matthew 25. In it, the brides-
maids are waiting with lights for the groom to
come. But when he is set to arrive, only half of
the party has enough fuel for their torches. The
other half have to go buy more and miss the
party completely. They hadn’t prepared for the
ceremony. While I’m sure the bride of the story
missed some of her friends, she was having too
much of a good time to worry about them. She
had prepared, just as the bride in Revelation
19:7. All the planning was done, all the hard
choices were made, and it was time to "rejoice
and be glad."
Paul points out in Ephesians 5:25-33 that human
marriage is simply a reflection of Christ’s love for
the church. With that in mind, and knowing that
the timing of our bridegroom is uncertain, I
think we could take some cues from those TV
brides. There are a million details to plan for an
earthly wedding; how much more should we
prepare for the return of our Lord? There are
people to invite, meals to prepare, clothes to
purchase, flowers to tend. All these pieces have
“Kingdom” equivalents. Have we invited others
to join us in the church? Have we provided food
and clothing for those in need? Have we cared
for the earth’s gardens? Are we anxiously awaiting
that moment when we finally get to see the
Groom?
At the end of those TV shows, the bride and
groom are satisfied simply for being married.
And while our Lord’s return will usher in a time
of joy for simply occurring, the preparation we
do here and now can make the anticipation and
excitement for that time so much sweeter.
— Dorothy Noel
Katrina Goodrich
Women’s Society
The Women’s Society will disperse
the 2015 SDB Women's Love Gi as follows:
• Uganda families to adopt orphans: $500
• Joel & Laura Sutton, missionaries to Haiti: $500
• Zambia TIME training: $500
• Camp facilities in Guyana: $500
• Dorotha Shettel fund: $500
• Lydia's Home: a home for abused girls in
W. Palm Beach, FL: $250
• Patty Peterson, evangelism: $250
• Food, medicine, mosquito netting
(For Africa via Missionary Society): $250
• Joel & Judith Houts, missionaries to Puerto Rico: $226
• Shirley Morgan, pastor in Nicaragua: $226
• Helping Hands overseas:$226
Blessings
