Jesus, Our Bridegroom

So with Palm Sunday and Easter approaching I thought it would be good to do a themed devotional for our Moms Night Out meeting. I sat with a book on Jesus, a compilation of various writings about His birth, life, death and resurrection. Lots of great writings and insights from various authors over hundreds of years. But God lead me in a very different direction. 

I put my wedding bands back on after cutting up some raw chicken. 

"...Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Ephesians 5:25-27)

Christ, our ultimate Bridegroom. Before we even knew Him or wanted Him, He knew us and wanted us. He wanted us. He pursued us. One of our moms drove this point home last night. It's so true! How can we not help but respond to this kind of love that draws even the hardest of hearts?

"I delight greatly in The Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61:10)

If God would have made us slaves of the King that would've been enough. But we don't have to cower when we come before Him! We deserved death and He gave us life. He clothed us in His own glorious righteousness and made us His bride. He desires more than just our redemption, He desires a relationship built on the intimacy and trust a husband and wife would share.

"As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over His bride, so will your God rejoice over you." (Isaiah 62:5)

"The bride belongs to the bridegroom..." (John 3:29)

Just as a husband and wife would enter a life-long marriage covenant so God desires to establish an everlasting covenant with us. He is excited to share this with us as His beloved! He belongs to us, and we belong to Him. 

Whether we are married in this life or not, Jesus is our ultimate--the perfect Husband who gave His life for His bride. He is the best example for what a godly husband should be. Our earthly husbands will fail us but it was never their place to completely fulfill us the way that our Heavenly Bridegroom can. This certainly doesn't excuse poor behavior on our husband's part but it puts them in the grace-filled realm the rest of us are a part of instead of on a lofty pedestal they were never meant to occupy.

Take time to reflect on the beautiful reality that Jesus is our Bridegroom! He is so much more than Redeemer. He's the Lover of our Souls.