It is estimated that over 2 billion (yes, billion!) tuned in to watch the wedding ceremony of William and Kate in England today (4/29/11). Adjectives like ‘tremendous, beautiful, spectacular’ do not capture the grand scope of pomp and circumstance displayed in the chapel, the palace, the arrangements, the costumes, the musicians, etc. As we all expected, it was over-the-top … a wedding fit for His (and Her) Royal Highness. [I am thankful that the gospel - as short as it was - was broadcast to so many people around the world. It still has power!] The Lord used the ceremony in my heart to remind me of a great Scriptural truth: we are His royal bride!
The Royal Wedding: Compared
The people love Kate: they connect with her. She is the commoner that has been made into royalty. It is the same thing we loved about Princess Diana. Each of us, whether we know it or not, live just a little vicariously through her. But this story isn’t original with England’s leading ladies, it is centuries old and of Biblical proportions. You see, we were commoners (Gal. 3:23) until the Prince reached out to us (Gal. 4:4). Now we (by grace & faith) have been made to sit in high places (Eph. 2:6) and have been promised thrones (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). We have given an inheritance (Eph. 1:11; Col. 1:12) and and now heirs of all the King possesses (Rom. 8:17). We are now VIP (Eph. 1:3-5) because we are special to the VIP of VIPs!
The Royal Wedding: Contrasted
Marriage is a God-ordained type of the relationship He desires with His people. The Bible teaches that believers are Christ’s bride. Marriage stands as an earthly image (copy, shadow) of a Heavenly reality. So if you think that the royal wedding was top-shelf, you haven’t read what the Bible says about THE royal wedding (between the King of Kings and His Bride). Today’s royal wedding was billed as the event of the century… THE royal wedding will be the event of the millennium! The boy’s choir cannot compare to the angelic choir. Westminster Abby is not even in the same category as the New Jerusalem. Buckingham Palace is something, but it’s nothing compared to My Father’s House. The Queen’s Breakfast was absolutely exquisite, yet it pales to what will be served at the Marriage Supper. You see, today’s royal wedding was limited by an earthly budget and human planners, but the only limit to THE royal wedding is the creativity, power, and love of God. And you do realize that God really wants to show off when you arrive, don’t you? (see Ephesians 2:7)
A Holy Union: Commitment
The presiding minister emphasized that marriage is an holy union. First of all, it is holy (Heb. 13:4). The people of God should be sacred and holy. Too often, we pass those attributes off to our church building instead of owning them ourselves. We will throw a ‘holy’ conniption fit if someone defiles our church with food or fun, yet we don’t mind defiling ourselves with sins much worse. God desires His bride to be pure (Eph. 5:27). The bride’s purity is often represented by her dress (much ado was made about Kate’s dress). We should be making ourselves ready to meet our Groom with a purified life (Rev. 19:7). The more real that meeting your Groom becomes, the greater the motivation for purity (1 John 3:2).
Secondly, marriage is a union. Marriage is when two become one (Gen. 2:24). The creation of a unit. A single goal, a single purpose, a single identity. One. That’s exactly why God told His people (Mal. 2:15-16) that He hates divorce. Because when people divorce, one is torn into two halves. People are never whole again afterward. Divorce is not the answer.
**In Genesis 24, Abraham sent his servant to fetch a bride for his son, Isaac (the one who offered himself as a sacrifice at his father’s hand). This is a picture that God the Father sent the Holy Spirit into the world to find a bride for his Son, Jesus (the sacrificial Lamb of God for sin). The servant met the bride-to-be at a well and confirmed his choice. Thousands of years later, Jesus met a woman at a well (Jacob’s well – the same one?) and confirmed His choice. God’s choice is for you as His bride. Have you accepted Him by faith to be your Groom? If yes, are you ready for THE wedding?
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