THE BRIDE
Jesus won her heart.
The Bride
“I’m going
to marry him!”
“Oh! You’re
his chosen bride?”
“Yes, will you be one of my bridesmaids? I’m going to ask all our nine sisters
because I can’t choose between them for our wedding party.”
I’ve been
discussing my wedding with my sisters. Dorcas is a seamstress and Lydia sells
purple fabrics. My father agreed, signed the contract, and paid the price for
my marriage. Although my groom promised he would return soon for the wedding,
he couldn’t give me a date, but when he has finished preparing our home, he
will appear. His dazzling description fills me with awe, and I can’t wait to
see it. His Father is the King, and his palace has many magnificent rooms. The
throne room glows with brilliant light. The entire rainbow, from red to emerald
and purple, surrounds the throne.
I’m going to be a princess! Can you imagine?
At first, I was terrified by his descriptions of rumblings and lightning bolts,
but he assured me his father loves me. The fireworks will herald his majestic
power and glory, a prelude to our wedding.
Our engagement has been littered
with pitfalls and tragedy, but he has overcome every obstacle. He’s amazing,
and I love him with all my heart. He had his eye on me long before I knew him, but
when we first met, I couldn’t meet his gaze because his sheer perfection made
me question my worthiness to be his bride. His father and mine had arranged the
marriage, but I fled from him when the local authorities arrested him in the
garden of Gethsemane. They hated him because he had exposed their devious laws
and hypocrisy.
The soldiers of the city crucified
him on a Roman cross. I followed them at a distance and hid among the servants
in the courtyard, warming myself against the cold. A young maiden asked me if I
knew him, but I was terrified and I denied it. When he heard her speak, he
looked straight at me. The pain in his eyes! I went outside and wept. I realized
how much I loved him … and lost him.
The next time we met, I was in an upper room with our friends. He was
alive! I saw nail prints in his hands, and as he declared his peace over us, I
knew he was my Jesus. I understood he’d died, yet now he’d risen again. His
murder was the price he’d paid my father for my denial. Although I’d broken the
contract, he redeemed me with his blood. I fell to his feet and worshipped him.
After forty days, we watched him ascend to his Father. The billowing cloud
enveloped him, and he was gone. As I gazed, transfixed, up to heaven, two men
appeared who confirmed Jesus’s promise. He will return in a cloud, to a clarion
trumpet call, and whisk me away to my new home. Although I long to see him, he is
always in my thoughts and in my heart. Meanwhile, I’m getting ready. He has made
me a pure white linen wedding dress. He calls it the sign of my purity, my
righteousness. I know it is perfect and I will be a radiant bride, for he has designed
it, and it is an exact fit. When I see his loving eyes, I will glow under his
protection and his grace. All of heaven will rejoice at our wedding feast.
If I’m tired, he tells me to wander down to the
still lake he created near my present home. I rest by the shore and call him. He
listens while I share my problems and worries. He has showered me with many
priceless gifts, the most enduring being eternal life. I tell the world my
bridegroom is coming and offer comfort and support to my sisters while I wait
for him. This was his occupation while he was here, and I continue it under his
direction. Although I fail and often disappoint him, he always forgives me and heals
my heart.
He left me a beautiful lantern
and pure oil. It glows on the book he has penned, and as I pour over its pages,
he is with me. His plentiful oil sustains my supply, for the brand is of the
finest quality. Have you heard of this Holy Spirit oil? It flows from his
father’s abounding storehouses, which empower sparkling lights of love, joy,
peace, patience, wisdom, perseverance, goodness, gentleness, and kindness. If my
friends ask me for these gifts, I share them, but I only have one jar which I
must preserve until my bridegroom returns. I’ve asked him to send them a personal
supply. Since he is generous and kind, he will answer my request.
He calls me by a secret name,
but my friends call me Christ’s bride or the church, and I’m proud to bear his
name. I’d love to invite you to our wedding. In a mysterious way known to his
father, you can be his bride. We’re many people but one body. If you accept his
gift of life, he will fill and trim your lantern with his pure oil. Are you
ready for him? Let’s walk in his light because he is the light of the world.
Who is this attractive Bible character? She is Jesus’ bride. Jesus, our Maker, is our husband. It is you he loves and asks to believe in him. He has chosen you, dear sister, redeemed you, and he will present you to his Father, the most glorious bride of eternity. Hallelujah! Glory forever to our precious bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Parents arranged Jewish weddings. The bride price was paid, and the bridegroom prepared a home for his bride. She and her handmaidens would wait for the bridegroom's return. After the wedding there were great celebrations before the couple departed for their new home. All this is a picture of Christ and the church.
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