I was glad to wake up! Perhaps it was a dream only a preacher would have. I was to conduct a wedding, but when I arrived, I couldn’t remember the bride’s name, and no one would tell me her name. Not only that, I didn’t have my Bible, wedding sermon, or the wedding ceremony—and it was a really big, fancy wedding, with a huge orchestra, professional singers, etc. with several thousand people present. Worst of all, as I was about to go in, I realized that I had no shoes on (I don’t remember if I was in sock feet or barefooted). Fortunately, I woke up before my part of the wedding started.

            Perhaps a psychologist could explain my anxiety about being unprepared for the big event. It surely would be great if I could summon Joseph or Daniel for some insight into what my dream means, if anything.

            Jesus frequently used imagery from weddings to make his point. “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come” (Matthew 22:2-3). They laughed, made excuses, and even mistreated the king’s servants, causing the king to destroy them.

            “So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:10-14). Being unprepared for the wedding is more than a bad dream. It is a reality for many! Make sure your wedding garments are in order!

Bad Dream
By Bob Prichard
www.oxfordchurchofchrist.com