He is coming soon! He will take His bride, He will make her new!

Wove....twue wuv. Marriage is what brings us together today....Yes it is.

Have you ever stopped what it means to be the the bride of Christ? For men, it is not always a subject we are willing to refer to, but that doesn't make it any less true. When you become a Christian, you become a part of the entire body known as the church. Christ calls the church his "bride" in a sense when John talks about it in Revelation 19;7. in Ephesians 5:25, it talks about the sacrifice that Jesus made for His bride, the church. This is such an awesome illustration, and one that I have really had laid on my heart lately. Let me explain.

THE PROPOSAL- God made the proposal with the death of His son, Jesus Christ on the cross. The question is, will you accept this free gift of eternal life and enter into an everlasting covenant with me? The answer depends on us. For the ladies out there, there is no more romantic proposal than this one...John 3:16.

THE WEDDING DAY-Everything in a marriage relationship that we have here on earth is meant to be a reflection of the relationship we have with Christ. On the day of a Jewish wedding in biblical times, the groom would make his journey to the bride's home, and carry her back to his home with people rejoicing the entire way. This is exactly what it will look like when Christ comes back for His bride. He will carry us home! There will be rejoicing! We will know we are safe in the arms of our Saviour.

FAITHFULNESS- What is one thing that is a requirement for a strong marriage? Faithfulness. We all know the consequences that arise when someone in a marriage is unfaithful. Lives are torn, hearts are broken, and everything is in disarray. We are married to Christ, and He is faithful beyond belief. Think about everything that a wife expects from her husband. Unconditional love, unconditional safety. God gives those every day we are alive. As the bride of Christ you can be sure of this, nothing is bigger than God, and nothing can overthrow Him that will ever overthrow us. God is faithful! When he makes a promise, He keeps it. Now the question arises, how faithful are we? How often do we commit adultery on God? This may sound harsh, but it is the truth. Whenever we reject Christ and return to our old partner, the world, we are choosing to commit adultery. Puts it in a new perspective doesn't it? Yet God still loves us, and keeps us, which is much more we deserve. You see God only says He hates very few things in scripture, and one of those things is divorce (Malachi 2:16). God doesn't do what He hates. He will never divorce you, even when you forsake Him to pursue a fling with the world. Once again, I could write a long blog on what the Christian life looks like and we can't stay away from God for too long before we are drawn back to Him, and once again if you would like to know more just ask me :). God is faithful. Kind of makes you think huh?

SEX- oh gross. There is no way that you can make a comparison between physical sex here on earth and God. That is just awkward. But is it really? Let's look at what sex is supposed to be, not the world says it is. Sex is not meant to be a physical reproductive process only. Scripture talks about it being the union of two into "one flesh" (Mark 10:8). Men are made to fit with women, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out right? It is part of our design. When we have sex with our spouse, you become one flesh, where all things fit together perfectly, and there is more than a physical connection. It is a deep emotional, and mental connection. One that cannot be expressed in words. Sex is a way of unifying a man and woman and forming stronger bonds between them, as well as confirming the covenant that they have made with each other before people. And it is the same way with God. When we accept Christ, we are ingrafted into Him. We are no longer seen as apart from Him, but partakers of His divine nature and part of His body (Ephesians 5). The Holy Spirit comes into us and confirms the covenant that we have made with Christ. The Holy Spirit comes into us, and it is a perfect fit. The repentance of mankind and acceptance of Christ as Saviour goes hand in hand with the grace and love of God, also not rocket science. Sex is meant to be pure and done in the right context, as is our relationship with God. God gave us sex to glorify Him! It is a physical picture of what has happened spiritually in our lives. Too often people don't understand the meaning and purpose behind sex, and it has distorted our view of the beautiful thing that God has given us not only for us to enjoy, but to help understand what has been done on our behalf.

I hope this made sense, but is such an awesome illustration that God has given us so that we can know Him better! I understand it can be awkward (especially for guys like myself) to think about, but it is scriptural. And it is awesome if you really ponder it. As we grow in our knowledge of our spouse, and how good He is to us, then it becomes more and more natural to want to show our love to Him! If you truly love your wife or husband, you will do anything to please them and serve them in love.

So maybe that is why we talk about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. I heard on Christian radio that one of the best ways to grow in your relationship with God is to start treating it like you would an earthly relationship. Talk to Him, learn more about Him, serve Him! And for those who don't know Him, accept the proposal that has been laid out before you and receive eternal life.

I hope this was helpful in the way you perceive Christ in a new way.
In Christ,
Phillip