The story is told of a young man and woman who, during World War II, fell in love and were engaged to be married. But because of the uncertainty of wartime conditions and the young man being drafted into the army, they decided to wait to marry till he returned safely from service.
During his absence, the couple wrote letters regularly. The bride-to-be treasured each letter, reading and rereading them daily. She bought her wedding dress and packed it away in eager anticipation of her fiancee’s safe return from the war.
One day his letters stopped coming. Each day she eagerly watched for a letter only to be disappointed again. Some weeks passed before a military officer appeared at her home with news that her fiancé had disappeared in action and nothing was known of his whereabouts or even if he was still alive.
The poor girl was brokenhearted and inconsolable. Day after day she sat, tears rolling down her cheeks, as she read over and over those last precious letters her fiancé had written. One day, in the depths of grief, she unpacked her wedding dress and put it on. Then, tears flooding her eyes, she sat down to once more read that now ragged and well-worn last letter she had received from him.
Downstairs, her mother answered a knock at the door and was shocked to see her daughter’s fiancé standing there resplendent in his full dress uniform. Asking where his beloved was and receiving her mother’s permission to go upstairs, he entered the opened bedroom door and saw her sitting in her wedding dress, tearfully reading his letter.
It’s not hard to imagine the joy of that meeting. As they embraced, he looked lovingly into her eyes and exclaimed, “I knew you would be ready for me, but I had no idea how ready!”
How ready are we for our Lord’s promised return? Do we so long for His coming that at times tears are shed while we wait? How much do we long to see His blessed face, once so marred, His side, hands and feet pierced in love for us? Is His imminent return the thought that greets us each morning, carries us throughout the day’s work, and remains our eager expectation when lying down to sleep at night?
We have, in the precious Word of God, His “love letter” to our hearts, and it ought to be our daily practice to eagerly, and in heartfelt love, read it over and over. But there should be something more than just the reading and knowing of it in our minds. Expecting the momentary return of our blessed Saviour, “who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20) and who “loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Eph. 5:25), should have a real, practical effect upon the way we live. We should be, in our practical, daily walk, wearing the wedding garment of salvation that He has provided for us in His love and sacrifice at the cross of Calvary (Rev. 19:7-8).
He is coming. How ready are we?
“Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).
Adapted from “Selections”