Friday, November 14, 2008

And he [the angel] said to me, "Write: 'Blessed Are Those Who Have Been Called To The Wedding Banquet of The Lamb.'" And he said to me, "These are the genuine words of God." Rev. 19:9.

When people brought lambs to the Temple for sacrifice, the animals had to be absolutely spotless and without blemish. They were to illustrate the perfect purity of Jesus Christ. Those called to the wedding banquet of the Lamb will seek the cleansing that comes from intimate relationship with the spotless Lamb of God.

A beautiful college in eastern Indonesia called UnKlab is situated in the mountains just outside the world-famous diving destination of Manado, in northern Sulawesi. It is known as the "green campus" because of the wonderful expanses of grass that greet the eye at every turn. Every day students are up before dawn to rake the leaves before the sun rises over the horizon.

The campus contains several substantial buildings, and it seems that in this part of theworld white is the favorite color to adorn any edifice. But while white looks beautiful against the jungle-green enviornment, it does have drawbacks when it rains. For not only are the buildings white, but the floors have white tiles as well. During the torrential rainy season some of the earthen walkways turn to mud, and it is not long before the white tiles get smeared with chocolate-brown dirt.

In North America the favorite color of flooring is brown, because it "hides the dirt" well. So one might be mystified as to why anyone would want to place white tiles where they would get dirty so quickly. But if you were to ask the cleaning people at UnKlab why they used this color for the flooring, they would answer, as if it ought to be self-evident, "So we can see the dirt." And sure enough, one day after a muddy rain they restore the tiles to a spotless state, with all dirt removed from the surface.

Let's face it-most of us don't want to see the dirt on our floors. We don't enjoy noticing it in our lives, either. As a result we do everything we possibly can to conceal the dirt by sweeping it under the carpet or comparing our polluted thoughts and actions with the world around us. But the Lamb of God is 100 percent pure and spotless. Jesus is pure so that when we come to Him, we can see the dirt in ourselves. And He will not only help us recognize our true condition but has promised to cleanse us from all unrighteousness(1John 1:9). So instead of trying to hide our dirt, we can go to Jesus and become clean through the Word of forgiveness.

Lord, draw me near to Jesus so that I can clearly see the defects in my own character. I don't want to hide the dirt anymore-I want to be truly clean.

We cannot speak the truth unless our minds are continually guided by Him who is truth(TFMB 68).