The Aim

There are a lot of things we each have to do. Life makes demands we must meet for ourselves and for others in our sphere. It's easy, then, to get disoriented. It's easy to substitute the urgent for the important, to get caught up in the little things and miss the big things ... even, "the point." Even Jesus had lots of things to do. He came to do the will of His Father (John 6:38), to save sinners (Luke 19:10), to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37), to give eternal life (John 6:51), to preach the gospel (Luke 4:18-19), and even for judgment (John 9:39-41). He did it all. But one of His ongoing tasks is one we might miss.

In Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, he told husbands to "love your wives, as Christ loved the church" (Eph 5:25). He went on to describe what that love looked like. Jesus "gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 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" (Eph 5:25-27). Now that is quite a task. He died for her. But, wait, that was merely the start. His aim was to sanctify her. How? By "the washing of water with the word," a continual cleansing that makes her more holy ("sanctified"). To what end? To present her to Himself. Further, "that she might be holy and without blemish." A big job. (Oh, and, husbands, that's your job with your wife. Get right on that.)

In thinking about that, I came to an interesting thought. The church -- the bride of Christ ... what was her role? Oh, clearly, she would have requirements, tasks, things to do, lots of things like that. But in this sanctification, what was her role? I don't see it. I don't find it in this text. I don't mean she didn't have one; I just mean it's not here. That is, Christ is undertaking to thoroughly cleanse His bride with a continual washing of the word to make her holy and blameless without regard to anything she does. He's not limited by her cooperation or lack thereof. It isn't contingent on her approval. Christ is doing it. He is doing it Himself. He is doing it for Himself. And He will succeed.

I worry about that sometimes. I'm not as holy as I should be. I'm not the "super Christian" I should be after all these years. I have not "arrived." Am I going to make it? Am I going to get sanctified? What more do I have to do? And here I see my Savior smile and say, "I gave Myself up for you. I will wash you. I will sanctify you. I will make you holy and blameless." And it's a relief. Because from my end I'm not nearly as far along as I think I should be. To know that it's His aim to see to all this -- to know that He's working that Himself -- is a real comfort. Now I can set about doing that for my own wife, eh? Now, let's see ... give myself up in order to wash her with the water of the word so she will be sanctified and holy and blameless. Uh, Lord? I could use a little help here.