The Way to the Bridegroom

Most girls dream of finding their perfect Bridegroom. Dream of what he’ll look like…how romantic he’ll be…the list goes on! The Bible speaks of our heavenly Bridegroom. For a while, I thought I had found Him but little did I know.  After beginning to discover His real sweetness I can now say that everything else before was but second hand; cold and stale food.

Jesus does not just want me to befriend Him merely as an acquaintance. He wants me to live with Him, to become His bride.  ‘I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.’ (Hos. 2:19-20). He wants me to taste His sweet love for me and mine for Him. Jesus wants nothing less than to be intimate with me…for me to know His thoughts…to be closer to me than any other. He lavishly displayed His love for me on the Cross, sparing nothing and holding nothing back for my sake. Even the world tells us, that when we find ‘The One’, we should respond with great love…but have we even begun to shower our Beloved with our love?

True love would do anything their Beloved asks, particularly when that Beloved One is God Almighty…All-Knowing and Love incarnate. One well-known servant of the Lord said ‘to stop wearing your wedding ring might be no great crime…yet no loving wife would do it. In the same way, none who regard outward ordinances as love tokens will think of neglecting them.’ God clearly states in His word, the things that matter to Him, the ‘love tokens’ that He would like. ‘He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me’ (John 14:21). There is nothing more sincere than to suffer for the One whom I love. This carries the biggest proof of love. I must be willing to give up things for Him. I must be willing to endure reproaches and accusations, just as He has. I must be willing to go to a place of discomfort for Him, just as He has done for me.

I cannot find my true Love in places where He does not dwell. The Shulamite woman could not find her Beloved whilst in bed, in the streets, or in the squares (Song 3:1-3). To really find my Bridegroom, I need to look in places where He’s been. And they are found on the road from Gethsemane to Calvary: the distress, toiling, false accusation, humiliation, scourging, crowning with thorns and cross. I cannot find my Bridegroom unless I live with Him through this. His place has always been caring for the poor, the destitute, the lonely, the reviled and the outcasts. And though they are places of suffering, they become places of joy, grace, and union with the One whom I love. Therefore, let me say like St Paul, “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.” (2 Cor. 12:10)

How much are you willing to find your Beloved, to walk with Him and to display your unreserved love to Him?