What does it mean to be a Bride of Christ?

Jesus gave us many sacraments and symbols in the New Testament to give us a glimpse of what our relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit should look like. Most people just think of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, but we can’t forget marriage. As I am getting married in a little over a week, I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. While I don’t fare too well on this test below, I’m grateful because my pending marriage is already teaching more about what it means to be a bride of Christ (even though I am a man).

So what does a bride do in your typical wedding in the US, approaching her wedding?

Show everyone her ring. This may seem like an obvious one, but have you ever noticed that even when a ring may not be that impressive from someone else’s perspective, the person to whom it was given thinks it is flawless. It is a symbol of their union, a mark of their pending marriage, and they want everyone to see it.

Count down the days. Even I am guilty of this. Time seems to be getting slower the closer I get. But I literally have been counting down the days because I am so so eager of what this marriage will mean.

Talk about their groom. Generally after a bride will show off her ring, the conversation turns to the proposal, how lucky (blessed) they are, how amazing their soon-to-be-groom is, etc.

Plan, Plan, Plan. I have an amazing fiancé, but I’ve come to realize how much work she has put into this wedding. She will be the first one to say that it is worth it, but man, she has poured herself into making this dream wedding a reality.

So now let us look at my original question. What does it mean to be a Bride of Christ? Gotquestions.org states the following:

The imagery and symbolism of marriage is applied to Christ and the body of believers known as the church. These are those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal savior and have received eternal life. In the New Testament, Christ, the bridegroom, has sacrificially and lovingly chosen the church to be His bride (Ephesians 5:25-27). Just as there was a betrothal period in biblical times during which the bride and groom were separated until the wedding, so is the bride of Christ separate from her bridegroom during the church age. Her responsibility during the betrothal period is to be faithful to Him (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:24). At the Second Coming of Christ, the church will be united with the Bridegroom, the official “wedding ceremony” will take place and, with it, the eternal union of Christ and his wife will be actualized (Revelation 19:7-9; 21:1-2).

So let me ask you the same questions I asked myself. Clearly, we are called to be the Bride of Christ. And talk about a love story: while we were yet sinners Jesus came and died to reunite us to Himself. Talk about a proposal! But why do we seem to get more excited about a marriage to another sinner than a marriage to our Holy God. Think about it.

Do we wear His engagement ring? Do we wear a mark on us that we proudly display to all who will look? Be it a physical cross or His mark in our words and deeds. Do people look at us and know that we are even engaged? Or do they just see someone who is flirting with the rest of the world? Brothers and sisters, we have truly become a whore to the world.

Do we count down the days? Do we really believe that to live is Christ, to die is gain? Are we that eagerly counting down to when we can hold our Savior’s pierced hands? Why not?

Do we share it? Do we tell others the proposal story of how Jesus captured our hearts? Do we lose our breath just thinking about it, getting swept up into his incredible adventure?

Do we plan, plan, plan? Are we willing to do ANY work? Or do we seem to be just so lazy about our walk with God that we assume He will do all the planning for our marriage? Think again what a normal bride does? Do we spend days, weeks, researching the perfect wedding for the perfect mate? Do we ask others because we recognize we don’t know everything? Do we litter our days with appointments with those others, time to think, time to plan, etc? Do we sacrifice our time and money for our wedding with Him? Or are we only willing to give out these precious commodities to another person?

So the question I ask you, the question I ask myself, is why not? Why not?

~ by unclewormwood on May 24, 2007.