i've said it before, and i say it again:
Jesus is returning soon.
7Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear."
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
Revelation 19:7-8
okay-- He's coming again, and we need to be ready.
how do we get ourselves ready?
wearing fine linen, so it seems.
fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints (that's us).
righteous acts. hm.
one comrade who is fighting with me here in the Downtown Eastside, recently did his masters thesis on the word, "righteous."
so i asked him what he thinks this Scripture means.
i always took it as a holiness verse (i like to take every verse as a holiness verse!), and said that to get ready for Jesus' return, we must be righteous. we need to stop sinning, and do good. that's how i interpreted it.
he knows a lot about the word righteous, however.
apparently the righteous act we do is this:
declare our allegiance to the Kingdom of God.
this is, basically, salvation. it's saying, "i am Yours, i will remain faithful to You and Your kingdom, if i get shot in the head, if i get abandoned, whatever comes. i declare my allegiance to You."
so-- declare your allegiance to Him. come what may.
(back to the Moulin Rouge allusions)
this is how you can get yourself ready. and how we can get them ready.
"i wanna be ready,
i wanna be ready,
i wanna be ready, Lord
ready to put on my long white robe."
oh that song looks so silly when i type it out, but it's actually a powerful negro-spiritual, danced out with tears and passion by Alvin Ailey dance company (my favorite choreographer).
cries of my heart:
--"come, Lord Jesus."
--"i must know You."
--"make us ready."
5 comments:
I love Alvin Ailey and the dance to that negro spiritual too -- powerful truly.
Great cries of your heart Liv. Yes and amen to all three.
In a class on the New Testament I'm taking, the prof said the word "righteousness" as used by Jesus means "charity", i.e. generous deeds/acts on behalf of the poor. Hence, Jesus' words to the crowd . . . "unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees . . . " Jesus meant it as practical expression of Christian faith as charity = righteousness. Interesting.
jm
why wouldnt you take every verse as a holiness verse? they are all holiness verses...
we should hang out sometime. i think we have lots of fun. and i could use some fun. i am so tired of boring. thats all im sayin.
and maybe someday i will actually read your blog. i assume you have good things to say, what with having written a book and all...
oh- and that whole...hurry up and get here, jesus thing...i was all about that last summer. what can i say...crap summer...
yes Beracah, it is THE Francis'. how great is that!?
i'm stoked.
hallelujah.
and just as cool, what Commissioner McMillan is leading in NYC-- Justice Mission. wahoo! it's going to be GOOD.
An entire thesis upon the thoughts, definitions, impression, intentions of one word - exceptional. Righteousness...a big enough word to fill 10 books and more and still not be complete or thorough enough. "Conformed to God's will" is the definition I have relied upon when translating and fully unpacking righteousness in this given context.
The most complete and powerful prayer a believer can utter, "Lord, YOUR will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Righteousness in action - God's will done each day in each action - in law, government, covenant loyalty, ethical integrity, or all gracious actions.
Be ready
Terrific thoughts from your blog tonight
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