“Meet the Bridegroom!”

continued…

I was walking on clouds—so excited! I had finally met my future bridegroom. He was tall and handsome and seemed to be a very nice person. He treated me with respect and kindness and my mother even liked him a lot. I felt good about myself when I was with him. He took me to meet his family who lived about an hour away from here. Guys are usually serious when they take you to meet their family so I was feeling pretty secure in our relationship. We were starting to make plans for the future and I was so happy.

Everything was going along just fine until my “so called” friend started to come to my house every evening for me to put her hair up in a French twist so she would look nice to go out on the prowl for a man. She would always arrive just before time she knew he would be there to pick me up for our date. And, of course, being the gentleman he was (or seemed to be), he would invite her to go along with us dancing. She started to turn on the charm and threw herself all over him. She wasn’t on the prowl for just any man; she was on the prowl for my man. It was all so slyly done that I wasn’t supposed to be jealous. She was just a friendly girl he said. But I knew better. This all caused friction between us until we finally broke up. The next night he took her out, and to bed, and never saw her again.

He was not bridegroom material and she was not my friend. My heart was broken. I thought I was going to finally be redeemed. I thought God was finally going to smile on me and my life was going to turn out as I had dreamed. I was so disappointed and so alone. I had no one to turn to. My friend had betrayed me. I no longer had a best friend to talk to.

I so badly wanted a husband that would be my best friend. I wanted a bridegroom who would be faithful. I was so desperate for someone to love me that I didn’t realize I wasn’t bride material. I was not prepared to be the wife I should be. I was still a very sinful woman who did anything to get her man. Yet in my heart I knew I could be a good wife if only given the chance. All I needed was the right man to make a good woman out of me.

Then one day the right one did come along. Christ called me from the wickedness I was in to be His future bride. He did a mighty work in my heart and drew me to Himself: “…I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go…” (Song of Solomon 3:4). “This is my lover, this is my friend” (Song of Solomon 5:16). This was the bridegroom who could fill my emptiness. This was the one I had been searching for. This was my redeemer. This was the one who provided all my needs.

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

The day I realized that Jesus was all I needed was the day I was at total peace. I no longer worried about whether or not I had a man in my life or a best friend to talk to. I could talk to Jesus any time of day or night. Jesus was all to me. Each book in the Bible has Christ in it:

• In Genesis He is the Seed of the woman
• In Exodus He is the Passover Lamb
• In Leviticus our High Priest
• In Numbers the Star of Jacob
• In Deuteronomy the Prophet like unto Moses
• In Joshua the Captain of the Lord of Hosts
• In Judges the Messenger of Jehovah
• In Ruth our Kinsman Redeemer
• In 1 Samuel He is seen as the Great Judge
• In 2 Samuel He is the Princely King
• In 1 Kings as David’s choice
• In 2 Kings as the Holiest of all
• In 1 Chronicles as the King by birth
• In 2 Chronicles as King by judgment
• In Ezra He is seen as Lord of Heaven and Earth
• In Nehemiah He is the Rebuilder of everything Broken
• In Esther our Mordecai sitting faithful at the gate
• In Job He is the Redeemer that Everliveth
• In Psalms He is the Great Shepherd

Psalm 22 the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep

Psalm 23 He is my Shepherd and I shall not want

Psalm 24 He is the Chief Shepherd

• In Proverbs our Wisdom
• In Ecclesiastes as the One Above the Sun giving meaning and purpose to life
• In Song of Solomon the Faithful Bridegroom
• In Isaiah He is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace
• In Jeremiah the Lord Our Righteousness
• In Lamentations the Man of Sorrows
• In Ezekiel the Glorious God
• In Daniel He is the Fourth Man in the fire
• In Hosea He is my Beloved who is forever faithful
• In Joel the Out Pourer of the Spirit
• In Amos the Eternal Christ
• In Obadiah the Forgiving Christ
• In Jonah the Risen Prophet
• In Micah the Bethlehemite
• In Nahum He is the Bringer of Good Tidings
• In Habakkuk the Lord in His Holy Temple
• In Zephaniah the Merciful Christ
• In Haggai the Desire of All Nations
• In Zechariah the Branch
• In Malachi the Son of Righteousness with Healing in His Wings
• In Matthew He is the King of the Jews
• In Mark the Perfect Servant
• In Luke the Son of Man
• In John the Son of God
• In Acts He is the Ascended Lord
• In Romans the Lord Our Righteousness
• In 1 Corinthians Our Resurrection
• In 2 Corinthians Our Comforter
• In Galatians the End of the Law
• In Ephesians the Head of the Church
• In Philippians the Supplier of Every Need
• In Colossians the Fullness of the Godhead
• In 1 Thessalonians He comes for His Church
• In 2 Thessalonians He comes with His Church
• In 1 Timothy He is the mediator between God and Man
• In 2 Timothy the Bestower of Crowns
• In Titus our Blessed Hope
• In Philemon He is Forgiveness Personified
• In Hebrews He is Greater than all and the Fulfiller of all Old Testament Types
• In James the Lord Drawing Nigh
• In 1 Peter the Vicarious Sufferer
• In 2 Peter the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
• In 1 John the Way
• In 2 John the Truth
• In 3 John the Life
• In Jude He comes with ten thousand saints
• In Revelation He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

(Thanks to my pastor, Gary Jared, for this list.)

I knew that Jesus had said the first and greatest commandment was to… “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37) and I joyfully obeyed this commandment because I had been forgiven many sins as the woman in Luke 7. I was thankful and wanted to please my Lord. Jesus delights in our affection. Our love and obedience to God are pleasing to Him.

How could I not love Jesus who had first loved me and died for me and arose again so that I might have life and have it to the full. How could I not be eternally grateful? I hope I never forget what Jesus saved me from.

“I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10); “…As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5).

Jesus (the Bridegroom) said, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes [we are unclean in sin and salvation cleanses us], “that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:12-14).

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).

Read Part 13