Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her . . . so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25–27)

Imagine you see a bride early on the morning of her wedding day — and she is a mess.

She has so many details to attend to — especially getting herself ready — that she set her alarm very early, rolled out of bed, and made a beeline to the hotel lobby to get coffee. She’s sure she won’t encounter any wedding guests at this time of morning. Why would any of them be up? She’ll grab a cup of coffee, get right back to her room, and spend most of the day preparing for the wedding.

But let’s say someone else is up early: you. You’re up to read and meditate on God’s word, enjoying the empty hotel lobby. You hear the elevator beep and wonder who else might be awake before the sun. The door opens.

Her hair is a mess. She has sleep in her eyes and pillow lines on her face. She’s even wearing the old, comfy (very modest) pajamas she must have slept in. No jewelry, no makeup, no adornment, no styling. She’s not wedding-ready.

At first, you hardly recognize her. She smiles awkwardly, realizing her miscalculation, grabs coffee, and heads quickly back up to her room.

Don’t Be Fooled

Now, how foolish would it be, not to mention petty and irreverent, for you to spend the morning telling your spouse and other wedding guests how ugly the bride is? All too soon, this talk will prove very shortsighted because your quick glimpse of her as a mess early in the morning will fall far short of her image at the end of the day. The wedding is still to come. And the bride you saw briefly that morning had yet to enter into her preparation process for the wedding. Soon she will appear in splendor.

When you and your spouse and the other guests arrive at the ceremony later that day, and when the congregation stands and turns to the back, and the doors swing open, there she will stand in her glory — breathtaking. She will not look the same as she did before her beautification. And if you’ve spent the whole day talking about her spots and wrinkles, you will lose credibility with anyone who listened to your folly— not to mention how your badmouthing the bride might arouse the wrath of the groom.

Her Splendor, His Majesty

A Day is coming when Jesus will present his bride to himself in splendor at the marriage supper of the Lamb, and on that day, many fools will lose all credibility and have their utter folly exposed. On that Day, some of her most vocal cynics and critics, dead in their sins, will be sent to hell. Others, true believers yet sadly deceived and immature, will have their hay and straw exposed as it goes up in fire. Their folly will become manifest. Their work will burn, and they will suffer loss and great shame, even as they themselves may be saved through the fire (1 Corinthians 3:12–15).

The church, of course, does have her spots and wrinkles for now. The apostle acknowledges it (Ephesians 5:27) — so can we. In fact, the Groom himself knows it best. He died for more than just her blemishes; he died for her sins. As in that striking portrait in Ezekiel 16, Jesus found her left for dead, wallowing in her blood, and said, “Live!” So severe was her condition that his own life was required to cover her sins and purchase her life.

No, Jesus is no naive husband. He knows well — far better than any scoffer or jaded professor — how sinful, rebellious, desperate, and flawed his bride was and is still. Yet he loved her, and he cherishes her. That is, he loved us — while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). And he nourishes and cherishes his church. He is sanctifying her, beautifying her, dressing her in splendor. He will not leave her as an early-morning mess.

Yes, the church has her spots and wrinkles, and worse. But Jesus is cleansing her by washing her through the ministry of his word, and he is making her ready to be presented to himself in splendor, with all the world of angels and unbelievers watching. Soon his bride will be stunning in her holiness, without blemish, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. And the beauty of her splendor will accent his majesty. On that Day, the bride will be “the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 8:23).

Plea to Christians

If you know this story — the long-arc story of the church — and if you consider yourself one of his saved, part of his bride, how fantastically foolish would it be to fixate on her short-lived spots and be endlessly vocal about her temporary blemishes?

This is not a plea to ignore or suppress the sins of a particular local church or specific blameworthy leaders or to pretend that the church universal has already arrived in her splendor. She has not. She has wrinkles — and much worse.

However, this is a plea to professing Christians to remember her story, our story, and its long arc — and gain perspective and get wisdom. Remember our Groom and his relentless beautifying grace. Remember he is remaking his church in unexpected and delight-evoking ways. Remember how he sanctifies and cleanses her through ordinary, unspectacular means. With every new day and Sunday gathering and meal at his table, he is getting her ready. And her Day is coming.

We can be honest about specific blemishes without insulting the Husband who loves her and is cleaning her up. And those who claim to love this Groom will want to take special care of how they talk about his bride, what kind of attitude they cultivate toward her, and how willing they are to build her up rather than tear her down.

How Do You Talk About Her?

Ask yourself, brother or sister in Christ: How do I talk about my church and other churches? What do my words reveal about my pattern of thoughts and deep-seated attitudes toward Jesus’s bride? Have I driven a wedge, in my own soul, between Jesus and his bride? And are my words trying to make company for such misery? Do I stew over wrongs and entertain bitter thoughts and nurture bitter feelings toward the church and other Christians?

Specifically, you might ask, Do I genuinely love my local church — with the allegiance, affection, and action of Christlike love? Is my heart being shaped by Jesus’s own heart toward her? Do I trust that God has put these particular people in my life, uncomfortable as they can be, for my good and theirs in covenant fellowship? And do I lean in and serve my local church with my abilities and resources, or am I here mainly to consume and criticize? Do I recognize and receive that all of us who claim Christ are indispensable members of his body, equipped with natural and cultivated abilities from God’s own Spirit for the upbuilding of each other and his church (1 Corinthians 12:7)?

Remembering the church’s story, and her Groom, will affect how we think and feel and talk about the church, both local and universal. But especially significant is the perspective, and hope, and love we bring to our own local congregations. The world has its way of orienting to, thinking of, and talking about Christ’s church. Without vigilance, the present age will have its influence on us. In the world, as we are, we will subtly adopt its perspective.

Hope Beyond Scoffing

If you claim Jesus, seek to honor his bride with your thoughts and words. Assume the early glimpse you get of her through popular media and the rantings of scoffers is both distorted and incomplete — and that it overlooks the thousands upon thousands of healthy, life-giving, self-sacrificial, and holy pastors and congregations. Beware of speaking in broad-brush ways about “the church.” Let’s use careful qualifiers and seek to cultivate hope when discussing failures or voicing criticisms.

It’s easy to be a critic. Especially today. We are saturated in online and real-life examples. It doesn’t take special skill or ability to be critical. Many of us are being trained in world-class scoffing just through the air we breathe. But what’s unusual, what’s countercultural, is well-founded hope.

The church has her spots and wrinkles. She does. But the hour is still early. Her full preparation is not yet complete. Her wedding-day splendor is still to come. When she meets her Lord face-to-face, she will be stunning — as breathtakingly beautiful as he means her to be.