I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothes me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
-Isaiah 61:10
God creates many love stories and the best love story of all is how He sent His Son for such an incredible purpose. Christ can give us beauty instead of ashes and can lift our heads when all we want to do is mourn for whatever reason.
As a little girl, I had dreams just like any other little girl. My dreams included being a bride, being beautiful, having children, and living happily ever after. These dreams still are desires of my life and are still desires of many who have not been able to have these dreams come true. I am fully aware that Satan continually wants to destroy my dreams along with any dreams that others have. God, however, wants to bless and gives us these dreams and many more so that we can long for His reality. Becoming a bride is a big dream for me. Ephesians 5:25-33 shows us that God created marriage so that we could experience and have more understanding of a greater relationship. Our greatest relationship is our union with Christ. We can experience a deep and intimate relationship in a marriage, just as God created it to be. However, our relationship with Christ is even deeper and more intimate as we are the bride of Christ. In a sense, the term bride implies things that the term wife does not. Bride implies newness and freshness. Our relationship with Christ will continue for eternity but it will remain fresh and new, a long last romance. The Word describes how to be a bride.
Jeremiah 2:2, God spoke to Israel saying, "I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert." Being a loving bride includes having a willingness to follow her groom to places that seem like a wilderness and are unknown and difficult. God sometimes leads us to different places but we can completely trust in Him to have purpose of our path and that He will never forsake us. Think about earthly relationships and marriages. The groom will move his bride and possible family to new places with the purpose of seeking a higher quality of life. Christ does the same thing for our lives. Christ brings us to new unknown places because He desires to offer us a better quality of life.
Revelation 19:4-8 describe the corporate gathering of all believers and Christ. Verse 7 says, "The wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." This verse tells us that we cannot make ourselves ready when we see Christ. The verse said the bride HAS MADE herself ready. We need to be ready as a bride to meet Christ. A wedding is not just about a lovely ceremony but about a long-term relationship. As we prepare to be eternal brides, we won't just be part of a beautiful ceremony. We have the privilege of being the bride of Christ. This is such an incredible honor. It is not just about making ourselves ready for the wedding but for the Groom. How are we to get ready for marriage if we do not spend time on knowing similarities and differences and how we may adjust. How are we to get ready for marriage if we do not spend time getting to know a future spouses' likes and dislikes or where the passions of their heart lie. We will not prepare ourselves for a marriage relationship unless we spend time thinking about how blessed we are with such a wonderful spouse. We will not prepare ourselves for a marriage relationship if we do not allow someone to enter into our life and allow them to see flaws and experience vulnerability. This is the same for our relationship with Christ. We cannot be ready to meet our Groom unless we are thinking about Him and the similarities we have that multiply as we follow Him.
Psalm 45 is a wedding song. Verses 1-12 have intimate descriptions of our amazing Groom:
To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song. My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.
Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty!
In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house,
and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him.
The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people.
We cannot help but love Him, for He loves us. We cannot help by respect Him for His character.
We stand in complete awe of Him. We experience complete joy in Him.
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