Ever-Increasing Light

Marking Jewish Themes with Devotion

Sabbaths, Feasts, and More

“That He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:2).

Recently I bought a new cloth for my dining table. The size I buy generally is 60″x 120″, and sometimes these dimensions are difficult to find. When I come upon something I like, I snatch it up and bring it home. I love setting the table. I love dinnerware and linens. It is all part of the fun of entertaining, so a new “dress” for a long dining table is a treat.

Now with that said, it has been a long time since I have ironed a tablecloth that size. Yes, I send them to the dry cleaners, and they come back clean and crisp and bright. But for some reason, after I laundered my new buy, I had a strange hankering to iron it myself.

As the heat and steam of the iron pressed the wrinkles out and the creases in, I thought about God, of all things! I pondered His powerful hand of heat and steam lovingly pressing me into His image. But unlike the tablecloth, I have resisted, sometimes twisted away. At the same time, I have begged Him not to stop! I have yearned to be like Him but never relished the painful process.

Yeshua will return someday for a Bride without spot or wrinkle. That means universally the God of all creation is behind the scenes perfecting the love of His life to shine beautifully in a dark and perverse world. It means we must yield to the steam, heat, and pressure of the moment to become a reflection of our beloved Bridegroom for the world to see.

This truth is simplistic yet profound. It’s one we can stumble over because our sins are under the blood of Yeshua, yet God is transforming day by day through the pressures of life and changing our characters to be like Him. Our blamelessness is immediate and progressive. We must yield as He forms us into His image, which is spotless and without wrinkles.

For more study…

Colossians 1:22, Song of Songs 4:7, Ephesians 1:4

Work it into daily life…

Here are three ways to yield to the heat, steam, and pressing of God as He molds us into His image.

1. Develop a grateful heart even for the trial that brings suffering.
2. Express your gratefulness to God and others frequently.
3. Become aware of the suffering of others and become an agent of encouragement.

©Bonnie Saul Wilks