At a wedding recently I was struck by the joy and the excitement of the bride and the bridegroom. The pair had not been living together, they are both Christians and this was the beginning of a wonderful life together. The Bible compares Jesus’s love for His Christian children with the love of a married couple.

Jesus is our Bridegroom, is the Church a Responsive Bride?

In Ephesians 5: 31 Paul writes: “As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.”  Jesus calls us to an intimate love, which resembles the love between man and wife in a loving relationship.

Jesus does not want us to share the love that is intended for Him with others. Like a husband he deserves the bride’s focused attention. He is rightfully jealous of our love for Him, knowing that if we stray away from Him our lives will be wrecked like the aftermath of a divorce.

Who do we Worship- Jesus or People?

We are aware that our love for Jesus is prone to falter. Perhaps we prefer the thrill of materialism when we are admired for looking good in our latest purchase. Do we prioritize the attention of those who flatter us with effusive words because we can actually see our human admirers?

We need to re-focus. Our human admirers will grow old and die. I have just been looking at a book about Ronald and Nancy Reagan : “Entertaining At The White House”.  They were beautifully dressed in a glamorous setting. Ronald Reagan was an effective president but suffered years with alzheimer’s followed by an unremarkable death. Nancy is now a wizened old lady. Even Princess Diana who featured in the book, as a radiant star, is no more than a pretty memory.

In their heyday we would have been tempted to join the crowds to shake President Reagan’s hand in preference to sitting at the feet of the King of Kings, praising Him through prayer and worship.  Thousands of admirers arrived in London to pay tribute to Princess Diana. Watching this spectacle on television, it seemed that the crowds were worshiping her more than remembering her life respectfully. If only they would pay the same attention to their Savior and Maker.

Is Jesus is Your Bridegroom?

One day we will see our true hero: Jesus. He will be radiant and the light of Heaven will shine from Him. The sun will be obsolete. Whether we will be in Heaven as the bride of Christ, to celebrate the ultimate wedding feast, will depend on whether we have faithfully put our hope in our wonderful “bridegroom” while on earth. Adulating human heroes will provide no lasting benefit.

In Isaiah 62:4, we are told ….”as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” What an honor!  Let’s receive God’s love with a thankful heart and let’s respond to His love with a fervent, joyful commitment. This should be a love that is characterized by godly self sacrifice, dominating our hearts, souls, minds and strength, overflowing to impact all  other relationships and culminating in  an even greater depth of  joy in Heaven. Only God can supply such love.

If you haven’t yet experienced His love, ask Jesus to wrap you in His arms and keep seeking  Him fervently. He will not disappoint you.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Jesus is the Bridegroom and the Church is His Bride

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Lust is a sensual response to another person. In fairy stories such as “Cinderella”,

Cinderella - lust or love?

the prince “falls in love” with a girl who had been recently transformed by her fairy godmother. She was no longer the poor, abused stepdaughter, but rather a well dressed princess. How easy it is to be attracted to someone who appears to be well off, accomplished and beautiful. However, appearance is skin deep and we should warn our teenagers as well as our friends that “falling in love” is often no more than a fatal attraction.

Fairy tales usually have happy endings but if people in the real world assume that attraction equals love, they are in danger of committing themselves to a beautiful witch. The book of Proverbs in the Bible makes the point graphically in chapter 11 verse 22: “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.”

The book of Proverbs highlights the most valuable quality of a woman: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30) The word “fears” in this context means someone who takes God seriously, obeying His commands and worshiping Him with reverence.

It seems that most of the warnings regarding falling for beauty rather than judging character and faith is directed at young men. Men are in general more likely to focus on the physical and sexual than women and they need to be warned in particular. However, increasingly, it appears that many modern girls are also motivated to get into a physical relationship with the man of their dreams before they have considered marriage or even a solid friendship.

God’s Word shows the right way of living for everyone, but obeying it is only fully possible if we seek His help. The Amplified translation of the Bible helps us understand God’s will on this matter: “For this is the will of God, that you should be consecrated (separated and set apart for pure and holy living): that you should abstain and shrink from all sexual vice, that each one of you should know how to possess (control, manage) his own body in consecration (purity, separated from things profane) and honor, Not (to be used) in the passion of lust like the heathen, who are ignorant of the true God and have no knowledge of His will.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5)

Sexual purity is an important aspect of being a Christian. A true Christian is different from those who do not follow Christ and we must be self disciplined and godly in the way that we view our own and others’ bodies. We are called to be pure and honorable. Passionate lust is not the right motivation for any behavior and sex should be restricted to marriage. Sexual purity applies not just to sexual intercourse but to any act that is passionate or lustful. Even engaged couples need to avoid situations when they would be tempted to engage in premature sexual activity of any kind.

Does God tell us to remain pure because He is a kill joy? He warns us to avoid a lust driven lifestyle because the consequences cause so much damage, to our lives as well as others’, to our Christian witness and to our relationship with Christ. Controlling our bodies and our passions throughout life will bring tremendous blessing. If you have failed to live a sexually pure life, Jesus will forgive you if you approach Him in a humble and repentant manner. He can give you the power to change. Find a mature Christian who can help you and pray and read the Bible daily.

If Jesus is our focus, the joy we will receive from honoring Him and others is far superior to fulfilling the fantasies of minds that focus on the body in a lustful way. If we worship Jesus we should have the right attitude to others, offering what is good and kind and pure and self-controlled. This is love. In some cases when a man and a woman have tested one another’s Christian character, while offering appropriate Christ like love and compassion as friends, they may choose to marry, entering a life long commitment. Then they will be ready to share the gift of sexual intimacy which in the context of marriage is an important aspect of love, binding the two into one unit which no one should separate.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

Lust or love?

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It is helpful to remember that despite popular assumption, everyone of us was born with the inclination to do what is wrong and that includes our children. The Bible makes this clear (Romans 3:23). Rather than being surprised we need to work out how to proceed when the inevitable happens.

One of the big challenges of being a parent is working with our husbands to come up with a system of rules and punishment that are consistent, clear and fair. I struggle with this and find that my kids sometimes exploit their parents’ failure to communicate. Once they have succeeded in dividing us they have won the battle. The confusion and division are not a good foundation for harmonious family life. Unity and love between parents and a desire to express their love to their kids through disciplining them is an essential platform and, in my opinion, this is only possible if we seek Jesus’ mercy and strength and the guidance provided in the Bible.

In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, chapter 1:24, it is established that “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh.”

My wedding

In God’s eyes married couples are one unit, they are male and female (not two of one sex) and we need to function in unity although we have different roles. Divorce creates so much devastation as it is the total opposite of the “one flesh”. Jesus makes this point in Matthew 19 :6. He refers to the verse in Genesis and he says: “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” I know that for many divorce is a harsh reality that you would never have chosen. God will reach out to you in mercy and help you. For those of us who are married, hold onto the bond of marriage that God instituted. Do whatever you can to make it work and avoid temptation that could lead, down the road, to an adulterous relationship.

For those of us who are wives let us seek unity with our husbands through forgiveness, offering Christ like love and being submissive and responsive. We must not wait until our husbands are good enough or worthy of our love. We must love like Christ. In John 15:12, Jesus says: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” As Jesus sacrificed his life for sinful mankind that deserved nothing but punishment, we must similarly offer love to those who do not deserve it. This is how we should love everyone. For our kids to be raised in a stable home, we must seek to love their father, as well as loving them, in this self sacrificial way. I can only imagine the challenges of Siamese twins who are physically joined to one another. When we are married we are joined together in every respect. The physical is less important than the spiritual, but still important. Can you imagine Siamese twins arguing with one another. It would be terrible and we would encourage them to get on amicably to avoid a life of misery.

Similarly we need to encourage husbands and wives to love one another with the love of Jesus. This is by no means weak and sentimental: remember Jesus died for us. Loving in unity within marriage is the best way to handle the inevitable rudeness and rebellion that our kids will exhibit. Let’s encourage one another to work hard at making marriages work. If you are single, you can play an important role in persuading your married friends to persevere and to seek the love that transforms and to offer this unconditionally, offering it even when it is not reciprocated. Jesus will give you the love you need to give to others if you seek him. He is the one who will fill you up when you are empty. Don’t expect your children, your husband or other loved ones to take the place of Jesus. Rather love Jesus first so that you can love others with his love.

This is a post from: WomenRespond.com

A united marriage is the foundation that kids need

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