Here Comes the Bride!

I’ve been thinking a lot about Brides lately. (Eph 5:23) Actually I’ve been thinking about weddings and families too. (Thanks Bethany and Adam & Lydia and Jesse you guys did GOOD!) I came across this picture that is quite the contrast from a Bride on her special day.

All of this has led me to wonder how Jesus sees his Bride, yes I mean the church.  Is His view idealistic, or realistic?  Is it through the rose colored classes stained perfectly to cover the sins of a life time with his blood?  Or is it with X-Ray vision to look past the blemishes to see the heart?  Or maybe He sees it like the good morning kiss with coffee breath and rollers?

The most profound pictures of a blessed bride is not while dressed in white and being pampered for the special day.  You can't get distracted by thinking  about the ability to give birth as "the glory" of being a Bride.  That's a God thing! Neither can you ignore those ladies that never chose to marry.  Some of the most amazing mother-types I've met never married but rather stumbled on to Lamaze breathing techniques trying to control their frustration with someone else's toddler rather than labor pains.

It's the commitment to nurture that brings glory to a bride. It’s the realistic view of the essential work being accomplished, the next generation being nurtured, and an expression of longing for the “groom” to be closer and very involved. That in my estimation is the most glorious picture of the Bride of Christ!

One of our family's favorite movies is Lucille Ball & Henry Fonda’s “Your’s Mine and Ours.”  As a father of two incredible young ladies, this may be one of my all time favorite movie clips;" What Love Is…”.

This passage of Scripture brought tears to my eyes this morning. (Gen 34:11-12 Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask.  Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife.")

With all the blemishes I bring to the church Jesus still looks at the church and says “Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife.”  - I don’t deserve that love and devotion!  Our church doesn't deserve that love and devotion. But it sure makes me want to minimize the blemishes I bring to her complexion, and ignore the blemishes I see in others.

Dear Jesus, I am ready for our wedding day!