Recently three couples we know were married.  All three of these couples are Christians in their early 20’s.  After talking with these young couples I was reminded of a spiritual insight that I had forgotten.

Now that I am a little older and ~15 years into my own marriage I can better appreciate the love that these young couples have and how rare that quality of love is.   One bride was so excited just to be taking the name of the man she loved.  The groom was the main thing on the bride’s mind, and the brides on the grooms mind, they spoke highly of one another, when the topic of the other came up they would smile in anticipation.  There was no hesitation or confusion about the upcoming marriage, for them it was more of an ‘I can’t wait to marry’ thing than it was ‘am I making the right choice?’ thing.

The love seen within these couples seems mature to me, and in particular the love in these brides spoke to me about the love that church (should) have for Jesus Christ.  The bride (the church), is to be completely enthralled with her groom.  Completely enamored with him, with his presence and with pleasing him.

Ephesians 5:31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

The bride is not to be enthralled with herself, not caught up with pleasing herself, and with getting things her way.

We respond to the love of the groom not by looking in the mirror at the great things he has done and will do for us (“wow, we must be great, the great one loves us”) instead, we return his love back to him with all that we are and we speak of him to anyone who’ll listen.

The bride doesn’t set out to make a great name for herself in response to the grooms love for her, instead she takes the name of the groom and honors him openly to all, she gives herself to him fully and becomes one with him.  For the bride… her focus and her purpose is on the bridegroom, knowing the bridegroom, pleasing the bridegroom.

The essential message of the gospel that Paul and Jesus himself preached was not “see how wonderful God’s love will make you, come partake“, as it seems to be often preached today.

Instead it was “see the kingdom of Jesus Christ, what a Lord, what a God, what a savior, drop everything and follow him, marry him”.

Jesus said to his disciples drop what you are doing and follow me.  Die to yourself and give yourself to me.  Jesus said I am your life, Jesus said I am the gate, Jesus said I am the only way to the father.  It was not a tempting appeal for a wonderful life and entertaining worship experiences, their gospel was a life changing revelation of Jesus Christ.

Today it seems to me that a portion of the bride of Christ is caught-up in herself, looking in the mirror at how wonderful he has made her and wants to make her.   We preach about how great it is to be the bride, how wonderful she is, “join us and you will be a better person.”   When in truth what the world really needs is a revelation of Jesus Christ, it needs to understand the magnitude of who he is, it needs to know him, it needs only him.

When humanity sees him as he really is and not a religious misrepresentation of him, we can’t help but ‘marry’ him and give ourselves fully to him.