Religion & Spirituality
Even if your marriage has since ended, the odds are on your wedding day you were hopeful, joyful, and excited about the future. Regardless of what has happened since, think with me for a moment about the beauty of that particular day.Many of the brides can probably remember all the anxiety, anticipation, and planning that went into making sure you and everything was just right for that special day. I have never seen such planning of details for things that really do not matter in the course of a lifetime of marriage. But every bride in the modern era at least concerns herself with unimaginable details hoping that the day will be as glorious as she has forever dreamed it would be or perhaps watched at Christmas with Hallmark and Lifetime paving the way.Many of the grooms remember the difficulties of those same days but amidst the chaos there is one thing that is etched in every man’s mind. It is the moment in which his bride appears. The congregation stands up and looks at the bride, but if you have ever gone against the flow and turned to look at the groom you will see an amazing sight. There in the face of this man is love, there is pride, there is hope, there is anticipation, there is a holy fear of what is about to take place. And all of this is because he sees the fullness and beauty of his beloved coming towards him about to give everything of herself to him. Regardless if every pound was lost or every flower is in place the groom sees the purity of the moment and power of love overwhelms him.But, What if? What if that groom could always see his bride with the image of their wedding day? What if his heart always melted when he saw her and he was always able to look past the blemishes without any reservation? What if he only saw the purity of his bride and opportunity he had to hold her life in his hand? What if the bride was always so eager to fulfill her love that she desired everything to be perfect and would not rest until it was? What if the bride responded to the purity of love being given and at the moment as he takes her hand in his. What if the bride could forget about the blemishes or what is yet to be made perfect for no other reason except that she is assured of his love?Hallmark and Lifetime cannot even come close to the beauty of love that this would bring.Unlike the marriages we have thought about thus far today. Jesus offers us the invitation to be his bride. To walk down the aisle to receive the fullness and the assurance of his love, the purity of his heart. His loves that will never leave us nor forsake us. His love that will always hold our hearts and offer hope to us and bring us to the fullness of life that we long to enjoy. The invitation of His love that never fails. And if you and I can grow in our understanding of the knowledge and love of God we will never be the same.If you and I grow deeper in the depths of his love we would choose to do whatever is possible to prepare ourselves to join the love that will never fail us. All the while knowing that we can never be perfect, there will always be one more thing to get right, but it is his love for us, not what we do or what we say but simply His unfailing love that welcomes us and sees us coming down the aisle toward him without spot and without blemish. It is this love that we receive that empowers us to move beyond what we know or think about ourselves to be the person, the bride our hearts long to be and forget what has been and move forward into what life with Jesus promises to bring. Support the show (http://www.easytithe.com/stbdeland)