When I think of Valentine’s Day, I think of Red Roses. Last Thursday, as I gazed at the beautiful red roses my husband had surprised me with a couple days before the big celebration of love day; I remembered a very vivid dream that I had a few years ago. It was during my last year of college…the night of the two-year anniversary of my Daddy’s home going to Heaven. My friends/roommates, Annie and Phoebe, had gotten me a dozen beautiful red roses. If you know much about me, you know that I was an English major. Pretty much all my time was spent reading, writing, or researching during those days. At the time, I was enrolled in a class called, “The English Novel.” In it, we had been talking about “The Feast of Love.”
And that night I had a dream….
I was at my mom’s house in North Carolina. My English Novel professor was having a potluck there. She asked me to go set the table as fancily as I could. So, I set it with a pure white tablecloth, the vase of red roses that Phoebe and Annie had given me, fine china, and beautiful silverware. Then my professor asked me to see what was missing. “Oh, of course- the invitation,” I replied. Then she asked me to take a second look to see what else was missing. I said, “Oh, the guest book.” So I brought the guest book with one regular pen and one permanent pen. She then asked me the question, “What is this dinner a picture of?”
“The Feast of Love?” I responded. We had recently been discussing that theme in The English Novel. She said, “Close. It represents the feast of Christ.” She went on to say that the invitation I had placed on the table represented our personal invitations from Christ to His feast. In order to get to this beautiful banquet, we must accept His invitation.
Then she asked, “What do you notice about the pens and the guest book?” I said, “Why, one is a regular pen and the other is permanent.” She responded by saying, “Right. You see, the pen with permanent ink is the one that God uses to write your name in The Book of Life once you accept the invitation to His feast.”
As the conversation went on, more symbolism unfolded from the centerpiece of red roses and the white tablecloth. The roses were in the middle of the spotless tablecloth to remind us that it is by Christ’s blood that we are made pure as white snow.
Over six years have passed since I’ve had this dream, yet I still remember it as vividly as ever. I am a dreamer. I still remember precise details in dreams from when I was a little girl. I really believe God uses them in my life to help me process things with no distractions around. Sometimes I think that when we are told in Acts 2:17 that, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams,” I’m one of those young people with those visions. I don’t want to sound all mystical here. I just want to say that I’m thankful God gives me these beautiful dreams which are so realistic and packed full of truth.
He HAS invited me to dine at His banquet table with Him. His blood HAS made me white as snow. He HAS written my name in permanent ink in The Book of Life. He invites you to dine at His beautifully decorated banquet table accompanied with symbols of His love for you and the celebration that He has welcomed you to participate in. He desires to write your name in permanent ink upon the pages of His distinguished guest book. Have you accepted His invitation? There’s a feast He’s preparing that you don’t want to miss. I hope to see you there. If you’re not sure how to RSVP to His invitation, let me know. I’d love to help show you how to get there.
Revelation 19:9
“Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those
who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”
And he added, “These are the true words of God.”