Wrinkle Free

We’re still going through the process of unpacking our stuff from our move here. It seems like an unending process sometimes, but it’s worth it when I discover things I thought were lost or thrown away in the move.

A couple days ago I discovered a duffel bag filled with clothes tucked into a closet. As I started unpacking it I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple shirts and a favorite sweater I’d thought were lost. It was like finding hidden treasure!

The shirts and sweater were pretty wrinkled, enough so Ana threw them in the wash. She tossed in some soap and started up the washer. Those clothes got soaked, scrubbed, tossed about, and spun around. Then they were thrown into the dryer to be subjected to the heat and more spinning. You’d think after all that they’d look even worse than before, but actually they looked great, with not a wrinkle in sight.

In Ephesians, Paul tells us “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word…” (Ephesians 5:25-27 NIV).

Without Christ, we’re a mess. Stained, wrinkled, and just plain filthy. But God loved us so much He didn’t leave us in this condition. He sent His Son to die for us, so we could be cleansed by His blood and washed “with water through the word…”

Separated from God by our sins, we were “without hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12). But Jesus changed all that. Now we are clean in Him. But God’s not done with us yet. He wants even more for us. He wants to be able to “present [us] to himself as a radiant church…” (Ephesians 5:27).

In order to accomplish this God sometimes has to put us through the wringer. He lets life toss us about. He allows circumstances to send us spinning. Finally, He uses the heat of hardship to burn away the dross in our souls, so when He is done we will be “without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:27).

This process doesn’t seem “pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11). When we finally walk through Heaven’s Gate we will know it was worth it all. With a shout of joy we will throw our crowns at Jesus’ feet and thank Him for putting us through the wringer, so we could stand before His throne, without stain or blemish and not a wrinkle in sight!