Picture This - the dress

This is an excerpt from Randy Alcorn's "Heaven" Bible study.  This post is from page 87-88 of the study.  Enjoy!
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Christ and His Bride
As the church, we're part of the ultimate Cinderella story - rescued from a home where we labor, often without appreciation or reward.  One day we'll be taken into the arms of the Prince and whisked away to live in His palace.  When "the wedding of the Lamb has come" (Rev. 19:7), the New Jerusalem, consisting not only of buildings but of God's people, will come down out of Heaven, "prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband" (21:2). "And his bride has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear" (19:7-8).  The eyes of the universe will be on the Bridegroom, but also on the bride for whom He died.

I have vivid memories of my daughters' pure beauty in their wedding dresses.  The church, Christ's bride, should likewise be characterized by purity, as a fitting gift to our Bridegroom, the crown prince who has been utterly faithful to us.

If I were to ask you "What does the fine linen the bride is wearing stand for?' you might be inclined to say, "the righteousness of Christ that covers us."  Significantly, however, the text says something different:  "Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints." (v.8)

Question - Why do you suppose the fine linen is comprised of our acts?

The chosen princess, the church, can enter the presence of her Lord only because of the Bridegroom's work.  Yet her wedding dress is woven through her many acts of faithfulness while away from her Bridegroom on the fallen earth. 

The picture is compelling.  Each prayer, each gift, each hour of fasting, each kindness to the need, all of these are the threads that have been woven together into this wedding dress.  Her works have been empowered by the Spirit, and she has spent her life on earth sewing her wedding dress for the day when she will be joined to her Beloved.

Question - In what ways are you sewing your wedding garment?

We have a wonderful reason to stay alive, though we are apart from our Beloved, because we aren't yet finished sewing our wedding dress.  The wedding approaches, yet there's more for us to do to present ourselves pure before our Lord.  We're eager for His return, but we don't sit idly by.  Part of us wants fewer days between now and the wedding because we're  so eager to be with our Beloved in our new home.  But another part wants more days to better prepare for the wedding, to sew our dresses through acts of faithful service to God. 

Question - If the wedding of the Lamb were today, how would you feel about your preparedness?
a.  Uh oh.  I haven't even started on my gown!
b.  I was supposed to be sewing a wedding garment?
c.  My gown isn't exactly fit for a royal wedding.
d.  I've given my best to making this gown.  I can't wait for the Bridegroom to see it!

Write a prayer to your Bridegroom expressing whatever you are thinking about and feeling.
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WOW! 
Oh, Father God,
I sit here in awe and so very humbled that you have made me a princess, your bride, your prize.  I pray that together we will be sewing a magnificent gown that reflects the beauty that only you can give.  I am thankful that when my gown does get dirty, you make it clean again.  Thank you for giving me this picture to know more about what you look like, how you want me to look, and the beauty of it all.  You are amazing.  I am left speechless.  I am yours.  You are mine.
In the Prince's Power,
Kim