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Today is a special day. The guests stir as the familiar notes of Pachelbel’s Canon echo in the room. They crane their necks for a view past the endless flower bouquets and sea of heads. The doors open, and she walks in. She’s perfect. The bride, shining in elegant, crisp white, makes her entrance. All eyes are on her. But wait, look at the groom. The groom’s face is priceless. His bride is shining, and so is he! His radiant smile speaks joy beyond joy. All his wooing and working has paid off. His bride has made herself ready and is walking towards him. It’s really happening. This is what he’s been waiting for.

But, what about a groom whose bride is delayed? What about a groom who has to wait longer than expected to see his bride? What about a groom whose eager expectation and excitement heighten into a tremulous desperation for his bride to be ready? Thankfully, most grooms only wait minutes more for their delayed bride. However, I know a groom who has waited over decades, over centuries, and even over millennia, for His bride. This groom’s name is Jesus Christ.

Christ, our Bridegroom-in-waiting

Christ is a groom? Yes, our Christ is a groom (John 3:29). He is portrayed as a groom throughout the Bible, both prophetically in the Old Testament and explicitly in the New. So Christ is a bridegroom, but who is His bride He is waiting for? This question is answered very clearly in Ephesians 5:25 where Paul tells the Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her”. We see here that the church is likened to a wife just as Christ is likened to a husband. Thus, Christ’s bride is His church, His heart’s desire.

The idea that God desires a bride is further emphasized throughout the Bible. Isaiah 54:5 says, “For your Maker is your Husband; Jehovah of hosts is His name.” This verse is very clear. Our God and Maker, wants to be a husband to us, His church. He wants this so much that He betrothed us to Himself in Hosea chapter 2 saying, “And I will betroth you to Myself forever.” Furthermore, God expresses jealousy over His church just as a groom is jealous over his bride. In 2 Corinthians 11:2 He says “For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” Finally, we see the marriage of Christ and the church in Revelation 19:7 where it says, “Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” From these few verses we can see a clear theme that God desires a bride for Christ. This theme is shown so consistently throughout the Bible that the Bible can be viewed as a love story, as a divine romance between us and the Lord.

The Divine Romance

The realization that I am in a divine romance with my God totally changed my relationship with Him. I began wanting to know God as more than my King and Savior. I wanted to know Him as a groom and lover. Before, I had come to the Lord like a child comes to a father asking for things. Now, I am learning to come to the Lord in a more personal way, opening up my heart to Him and asking Him what is on His heart. Just like any relationship we have, communication is key. We must speak, but we must also listen. Having a relationship with the Lord is the same way. Even more than speaking to the Lord, I have learned to listen as well. As I have come to the Lord in a more personal manner, He has opened up the eyes of my heart, shown me more of Himself, and caused me to love Him more.

“…that He might present the church to Himself glorious”

Because I got a glimpse into God’s heart, I also want Him to get His heart’s desire. I want Christ to gain His bride. As the church, we are God’s heart’s desire and the counterpart of Christ, but how do we prepare ourselves to be His counterpart? What can we do so that Christ may present us to Himself one day? Well, practically, we can be under the Lord’s cleansing word. Just as sweet as the fact that God desires a bride is the fact that God gave the church a way to become His bride. In order to attain His bride, God gave us Christ and His word. According to Ephesians 5:25-27, Christ “gave Himself up for her (the church), that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious”. I realized that one way that I can match the Lord’s heart is to simply read His word. God’s word has a cleansing power, and as I read and open to His word, I get separated unto Him. As I come to His word, His word will get into me. As the church comes to the Lord and His word, she will be cleansed and sanctified unto Christ. As we continually get into the Lord’s word and allow His word to make home in our heart, Christ will one day be able to present the Church to Himself, without blemish, as His bride.

Even though His bride isn’t ready today, the Lord is continuing to gain a group of people who not only know about Him and serve Him, but a group of people who love Him and match Him. As Christ continues to make His home in the heart of the believers, the church will mature and eventually, the bride will make herself ready. When this day comes, there will be much happiness and “with the joy of the bridegroom over the bride [our] God will rejoice over [us]”(Isaiah 62:5).

By: S. Chen

Sarah Chen
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