To love and to cherish from this day forward
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
Why does God refer to himself sometimes as the “the groom” and His church as “the bride?” Why that imagery? What is God trying to tell us? I guess first you would have to think about what comes to mind when you think of a groom….not just a husband mind you, but a man not yet a husband, a man awaiting to be married. This brings to mind a God who is joyful, a God who is on fire with affection for you, and yet a God who is tender in His contact with your weakness. A bridegroom God who sees your beauty as all transcendent, He is a God who longs for you with passion and anxiousness.
But is this the God who is talked about at your church; are you a bride who feels courted and wooed by her groom, who feels light-headed, who feels alive and captivating? You and I were created by a passionate God and He wants us to live and be alive for Him. As God’s bride we should be fully aligned with His vision, we should be excited about the day when we meet Him at the end of the isle and we should be working toward that day with all of our will.
Christians today will use “buzzwords” to talk about church revival; they use words like “radical” and “extreme,” but what about “lovesick?” Can you remember ever being lovesick; so much in love, that it physically hurt you to be apart? I offer that if you don’t burn with the lovesick affection of a bride, we will burn out and become lethargic on our own strength. So how do we reclaim that lovesick affection? The same way a bride does with her groom – she has “encounters” with him.
Meeting God, escaping away from the cycle of everyday life to have rendezvous with the Lord will be what drives your passion for your creator. And the good news is, you already know how to do it….prayer….reading the scriptures….and worship.
The alternative is being a spiritually bored believer for the rest of your life. The alternative is being a passive pew filler who knows when to stand and sit. The alternative is you being so apathetic about your faith that it drives you to….nothing.
Lord, may we be the prize of your heart, may we burn with the passion of your cherished bride, may we prepare ourselves, and adorn ourselves for you. Give us the heart for what you have a heart for—stir in us again that lovesick drive that brings us back into your arms.
~ Amen
