The Bridegroom of the Church

Sam Rainer

This Sunday evening I will marry the love of my life, Erin. And no words will ever suffice in explaining how deep my love is for her. She is one incredible godly woman; I’m one blessed guy. But things are certainly changing around my pad. Her tastes, as well as some of her stuff, have preceded her. The walls of my tiny townhome have been painted light blue and sea green. Most of my stuff has been shipped to goodwill (who knew that you couldn’t use a sleeping bag as a bedspread?). I now house a hairdryer of mass destruction in my bathroom. Little knickknacks are everywhere.

My one holdout is the only wall-hanging that I had – a gigantic set of bull’s horns that reside proudly above my kelly green sofa. I have a feeling, though, that they will come down the day following the honeymoon.

But the change is obviously for the better – I couldn’t ask for a better bride. Erin is my anchor. She is a great encourager and the most beautiful person I have ever laid eyes on, inside and out. And she loves Jesus with all her heart.

The ties of marriage are strong, for two become one flesh. Christ used this analogy to demonstrate his relationship to the church. He is the bridegroom, the church his bride, bound together for eternity. He was the sacrifice, so that she might live. Our society, in general, views marriage too flippantly. Neither should the church take lightly Christ’s relationship with her. With almost 150,000 people leaving the church weekly and fewer evangelistic churches out there, one cannot but conclude that many are not grasping the atonement of Jesus Christ for his bride

I pray that my marriage with Erin will mirror what Christ did for his church. It is what I as a soon-to-be husband am called to do. It is my prayer as well that the church will experience a revival change, that people who are teetering on exiting will come to see the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And that those who don’t know him will call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.

*For obvious reasons, I will be out of the blogosphere until the week after my honeymoon. I will resume blogging twice a week or so starting the second week in January.