Here Comes The Bride
“That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:27
At weddings, the focus is always on the bride. The bridegroom, the preacher and the best man walk out from the area behind the front of the church with little fanfare. The bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle and take their places along the altar. The wedding march begins, all guests rise from their seats, and the bride, escorted by her father or some other special person, enters the sanctuary and walks down the aisle to join the groom with all eyes focused on her. I always like to watch the groom when he first sees the bride and see the expression of joy on his face as the two of them enter into what is meant to be a lifelong commitment. The bride, along with her parents, is the one who has made most of the preparations for this big day. She wants it to be as perfect as possible. In many cases, the duties of the bridegroom consist of picking up his tuxedo rental, getting to the church on time, and paying the preacher.
One of my favorite television portrayals of a wedding was presented in a flashback episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond”. We were led to believe that Ray was getting “cold feet” about his decision to marry Debra. His Dad brought him a small bottle of Jack Daniels to “take the edge off” and supposedly give him some courage to get through the ceremony. After some contemplation, Ray realized that he really loved Debra, wanted to marry her, and decided that he didn’t need any “help” from the whiskey. When she began walking down the aisle, Ray actually ran to meet her. He was so excited and acting like a little kid in a candy store. The guests were wondering what was going on with him, but the priest said that Ray was acting like God intended for a man to act in response to his bride.
In contrast to earthly weddings, the marriage of Christ and His church, the bride, is somewhat reversed. While Christ has His focus on the bride, just like an earthly groom, He is the One on whom everyone will focus. He is the One who has made all the preparation for the uniting of Himself with the bride. Yes, the bride has certain responsibilities to carry out, chief among them is to honor, serve, and pledge unending love and commitment for Christ through a complete surrender to Him in turning from sin and trusting in Jesus Christ and His atoning work on the cross of Calvary. She must remain faithful, choosing to live circumspectly a life of service and gratitude allowing Christ’s life to reign in her mortal bodies. Because Christ’s sacrifice removed even the slightest taint of sin from all believers, Christ can receive His bride into a truly blissful state of matrimony, heaven style, of which there will be no end.