She was absolutely breathtaking. With a smile the size of Texas and eyes as bright as the sun, she slowly walked toward her groom. This was the long awaited moment in both of their lives.
With his gaze locked onto the radiant face of his bride, the groom smiled and shook his head in delightful astonishment. She was walking…toward him. He had pursued and won the heart of a godly, beautiful, and joy-filled woman.
I know this couple personally, and their entire love story was marked by faithfulness, purity, and Christ-centered love. As I watched the ceremony unfold, my heart rejoiced for this couple and the union that was forming.
The wedding day.
There are very few things that can top the excitement and beauty of the wedding day. As women, we especially love weddings and love stories. We love a good romance! Right?
But even as much as we love romance, love stories, and weddings, there’s someone who loves them even more than we do — God.
God is the author and designer of all things love, romance, and marriage. The Bible even begins with a love story (Adam and Eve) and ends with a grand wedding feast (the marriage feast of the Lamb, Revelation 19).
From Genesis to Revelation the Bible reveals the powerful story of God’s love, pursuit, and covenant with His people.
And what’s even more amazing, is that God himself designed love, romance, engagement, covenants, and marriage to be an earthly picture of a much greater spiritual reality.
Love and marriage is wonderful, but the more we understand the truths behind what they represent about God, the more glorious they will become to us. And the more we will be equipped to glorify God through them.
So let’s do a quick flyby of grooms, brides, weddings and covenants and explore the exciting biblical truths behind what these things represent.
THE GROOM
Ephesians 5:25:27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
God created the groom (the man) to reflect and represent Christ himself. Just as Christ came to this earth to pursue and love His Bride (the Church), godly manhood should portray that picture.
The earthly act of a man pursuing a woman actually reflects what Christ did for us! Isn’t that amazing? And a man leading and loving his family paints a powerful picture of the way Christ leads His Church.
THE BRIDE
Revelation 19:7 says, “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready…”
Not only does the bride (the wife) represent the Church, but the entire act of preparing for the wedding teaches us incredible truths about God’s plan. When Jesus came to this earth, died for our sins, and returned to heaven, He left us with a promise. He promised to come back for us (His Church) again. Our job is to be prepared and ready for His second coming.
Just as a bride spends months and months planning her wedding and making herself ready for her groom, our job (as the Church) is to make ourselves ready for the coming of our heavenly Groom. We need to be busy working hard for His return by serving him with our lives.
THE MARRIAGE
Ephesians 5:31-32 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman on purpose and for a purpose. The man is a representation of Christ himself, and the woman represents the Church. As a man chooses to pursue, sacrifice for, and lead His bride, his actions reflect Christ.
As the woman chooses to respond to her groom, embrace his love, and willingly submit to his leadership, she reflects the Church. When a couple chooses to get married, and embraces their God-given roles as male and female, they display a beautiful picture of the gospel for all to see.
THE COVENANT
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
God created marriage to reflect the type of permanent love relationship that He has for his Church. When a couple stands at the altar of their wedding and say their vows, they are entering into covenant together. God created the covenant to be the most binding and serious contract we could imagine.
Essentially, a covenant means, “a promise that cannot be broken.” Just as God’s covenant with His people still stands, marriage is supposed to reflect that same type of lasting, permanent love.
Marriage is so much more than two people falling in love.
Love, weddings, and marriage tell a much grander story. And that story is all about our incredible God! The more we learn about His good design for our love life, the better equipped we will be to glorify Him.
The next time you’re at a wedding, take a moment to thank God for the beautiful gospel picture that marriage represents. And in the meantime, may we be a Bride faithfully preparing for the return of our Heavenly Groom.
Let’s chat.
- Is your perspective of marriage as grand and as beautiful as God’s?
- In what ways do you need to grow in your understanding of God’s role and purpose for the wife?
