Christ’s Wedding Proposal

In our daily meditations, we reflect on eternity and what God has prepared for those who love Him.

Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, wanders over the hillsides in search of those who are distant from His flock (Luke 15:4). He has gone to great lengths to reveal to us our need for a Savior from sin. God's plan involved the most loving act anyone could ever perform for those he cared for—dying in their place and bearing their penalty to set them free from the chains of sin. This act of love demonstrates the most powerful force in the universe—the power of love, agapé love. This kind of love is self-sacrificing and elicits a loving response from those who receive such grace. God has sent His Son into the world to win and woo His bride to Himself, especially those who have strayed far from Him and wandered near wolves.

To demonstrate how special we are to God, the apostle Paul wrote to remind us that we are being prepared for a wedding with Christ Himself:

I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him (2 Corinthians 11:2).

God desires us to be at home and in a marriage covenant with His Son, the Lord Jesus. A wedding ceremony between a man and a woman on earth reflects what God in Christ has done for His Church; the people invited into a marriage relationship with Jesus. The apostle Paul viewed himself as one who prepares the bride of Christ so that she may be pure and spotless for her wedding. Regardless of your past actions or where you have been, the Bridegroom can make you clean, pure, and spotless. If you are a believer in Christ, you are clothed in a robe of purity and righteousness that Christ purchased for you at Calvary's cross. He is calling for His bride to come home. Paul is not alone in using this analogy of marriage. The prophet Isaiah, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, wrote:

As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you (Isaiah 62:5).

Consider a wedding ceremony between a man and a woman. What traditions come to mind that might symbolize and represent the relationship between God and His Church? In a wedding ceremony, one of the first aspects that reflects this sacred union is the bride leaving her father and mother to become one with her betrothed. Paul the Apostle writes about becoming one with Christ as he discusses marriage:

For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery -- but I am talking about Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:31-32).

Paul addresses two levels: the relationship between a man and his wife and the heavenly union between Christ and His Bride, the Church. How beautiful it is for our heavenly Bridegroom to invite us into marriage with Himself. How loved we are! – Keith Thomas

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Taken from the series Insights into Eternity, found in the All Studies box. Click on the study The Wedding of the Lamb.

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