Tag Archives: bride

Do People Still Smile at a Wedding? They SHOULD!

Posted on by

Yesterday we talked about Romance, so today let’s take the next logical step and talk about WEDDINGS. A wedding is something that makes people smile! (Yes, some people cry, but usually they are tears of joy, not sorrow…) And whether or not you are married, this wedding verse actually has something to do with you: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10, NKJV)

All Dressed Up With Someplace to Go

Isaiah makes a bold statement: he claims that when we have a relationship with the Lord it should be as obvious as wearing a Wedding dress, something that everyone around us can see. He says that God literally “clothes us with the garments of salvation, and covers us with the robe of righteousness.” Even though a spiritual relationship with the Living God is an intimate internal affair, Isaiah says that following God should result in obvious external changes. When we follow God, he says, we should look and act differently…

Why do you think he used the analogy a bridegroom and a bride? First, it is because at a wedding, the Bridegroom and bride are the most identifiable participants.

Their clothes are distinctive; their ornaments and jewelry identify them as people involved in a new relationship. That makes sense, since a wedding in those days involved the whole village and proclaimed to everyone present that the happy couple was now reserved for each other. Unlike all of the other guests, these two wedding participants were entering into a binding legal agreement that was spiritually sanctified and publicly proclaimed; like theirs, our union with God is a covenant relationship. It makes good theological sense that Isaiah would compare our relationship with God to the social, legal, and spiritual underpinnings of marriage.

There was also a tremendous sense of anticipation, certainly for the bride and groom on their wedding night, and also for everyone involved. A new family was being created, and a new household was being established. The village had reason to celebrate! But that’s not why he used the analogy. Read the first part of the verse again.

Why, A Wedding?

Isaiah compares our walk with God to a wedding because of JOY. He says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God”! Joy is the defining characteristic of a wedding: there is the power of positive goodwill, the allure of romance, the promise of unlimited potential, and the beginning of something new. I can’t recall attending a wedding that did not have a sense of joy, can you?

Setting up a new home, private moments of intimacy, first baby steps, family meals, setting and achieving goals… All of these, and so many other actions and events are related to that place in a wedding where the bride and groom say “I do.” Without THAT moment, none of these other moments ever happen. Potential remains unfulfilled, and two hearts remain independent until that moment occurs.

Have you said “Yes” to God? Are you walking with Him? Then don’t forget: His purpose is not to obligate you to the law, not to burden you with mission, but to create with you a new family bond that brings you joy. Jesus said, “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:24) John said, “And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” (1 John 1:4)

As you consider where God is in your life, don’t forget that He has adorned you in the garments of salvation, and covered you with the robe of righteousness. He has brought you into His family, and there are many, many moments of love, joy, and intimacy with Him waiting to be claimed. Sit and ponder that for a moment. Find your JOY. Now, go smile at everyone you see today for no earthly reason; after all, it’s YOUR wedding!

A Joyful Wedding

The blushing bride is gorgeous, walking slowly down the aisle;
The groom and everybody else await her with a smile!
Every eye is fixed upon her presence in the room
As she proceeds to take her place beside her anxious groom.
This day was planned with all the art and skill they could employ
To bring this love together, and to bring these lovers joy!
Isaiah says this wedding vow will be one that endures,
And that you are the bride, because this wedding day is YOURS.
Rejoice! Be glad! Embrace this day, and all that it will bring:
You’ve been adorned and chosen. You are marrying the King.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

There’s a Cosmic Romance, and YOU are a Big Part of It!

Posted on by

Before we get too far past the costumes of Halloween, I am reminded that my daughter and her husband recently went to a costume wedding. While somewhat fun and whimsical, it still contained the key ingredient: it was a WEDDING! Two people in love got married! However it is structured, a wedding ceremony is ultimately full of romance. In these unique celebrations of love, there are often flowers and music. The groom is dressed in his finest, waiting by the altar as the lovely bride approaches. He is nervous, she is blushing. She glows with beauty, and he glows with pride. There is a sense of anticipation and joy that makes a wedding day very special.

With that in mind, stop and think about this: the Bible compares the way the Almighty God of the Universe feels about YOU to the way the groom feels about his lovely bride. It says, “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:5, NKJV)

Weddings are amazing events –costumes or street clothes– and they are almost always full of love and romance. When you consider the amount of time, creativity, and preparation poured into a wedding day, it has to be one of the most anticipated days of a lifetime. I was the father of two beautiful brides, (and one handsome son as well!). Each event was significant and special, attended by hours of planning, selecting, decorating, and choosing every element so that the wedding day went just right.

The Perfect Day

At a wedding there are participants, coordinators, flowers, colors, and rehearsals. There are photographers, videographers, tuxedos, caterers, locations, churches, gifts, meals, DJ’s, music, toasts, and shoes… There are countless other things besides mere romance to consider. Who’s in the wedding party? Where do people stand? What’s the order of the ceremony?

When I’ve had the privilege to officiate at weddings, I have noticed that most of these details are very important to the Bride. She is not only giving herself away, she is coordinating the blending of two families to create a new one. That means, of course, that her wedding must be special. It should commemorate the occasion with all of the appropriate decorations and elements. Brides and their mothers (and perhaps their wedding planner) dream of, conceive, plan, and manage every detail of a wedding so that it will be a perfect day.

Grooms… not so much. Most of the time (in my observation) Grooms leave a lot of that preparation stuff where it belongs, with the Bride and her mother. Yes, they smile and say, “Yes Dear”, or “That looks great”, but really, how much work do most grooms have to do getting ready for the wedding? So why didn’t Isaiah say, “As the bride rejoices over the wedding day, so shall your God rejoice over you”? Why did he compare God’s love for us to the groom?

Anticipation the Way it USED to Be…

I’m gonna get real for a minute. In our modern age of birth control, weddings have lost something that used to be a huge part of the anticipation and build up for the special event. Face it, most couples today have slept (or lived) together already. Before birth control, you were playing Russian roulette with your future to do that, and 60+ years ago, most women weren’t willing to take that chance. I’m not being Polly Anna, and yes I know that people still did it, but not nearly as easily or as often as they do today.

Weddings before birth control still held the romance and pure physical anticipation of intimacy. Physical consummation was scary, mysterious, spiritual, sexual, and highly anticipated, particularly by the groom. He’d been mooning over his fiancé, longing for her, and doing all of the highly charged heavy petting she would let him get away with. 60 years ago a groom approached his wedding day begging for union. That was just the way things were before women engaged in the “sexual revolution”. The danger of pregnancy outside of marriage was a powerful (although not total) deterrent to sex before that special wedding day.

But Wait, There’s More

I’ll pause for a moment and say that even today, when I officiate weddings, it is always a special moment when the bridal procession starts, and I can see from up close the look in the groom’s eyes as he watches his beautiful Bride, prepared and reserved for him, coming down the aisle to be presented to him.

There is always longing, pride, affection and commitment in that look; I mean, it’s a wedding! But where physical intimacy has not yet occurred, the sense of anticipation is that much higher. The desire for intimacy brings the groom an even greater sense of urgency to the bride’s approach. It puts the RRRR in “romance”! The bride is presented in all her loveliness, proceeding slowly down the aisle as everyone turns to look. The groom is waiting, a raging combination of love, romance, and hormones, anxious to consummate this union that he has anticipated so long…

True Intimacy

Lest you think I am obsessing over this aspect of the ceremony, picture this: Isaiah 62:5 says THAT is exactly how God rejoices over us. That is why Paul quoted Moses in Ephesians 5:31-32: ““For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.” A man leaves his home and family to start a new one, and to become one with the woman he loves. He will find completion and comfort in her arms, and they will discover the delights and pleasures of that union together.

As a groom stands and rejoices that his bride is coming down the aisle to be his—that is how God feels about us. Can you imagine? That is how God feels about us!
As we walk down the aisle to be His bride, can you feel His gaze upon us? It is filled with pride, affection, commitment and joy—as well as the pure longing for intimacy that has been planned since eternity past, and will bring joy for eternity to come. Be glad! You are being rejoiced over. You are at the center of the cosmic romance.

The Eternal Romance

The blushing bride is in the aisle, approaching sweet and pure;
She cannot hide her glowing smile, and yet remains demure.
Her face is like a work of art; she looks her very best–
Anticipation makes her heart beat faster in her chest!
Her steps are slow and measured as she walks into the room;
She could not be more treasured by her loving, waiting groom.

He sees her dress, her hair, her skin, the beauty waiting there within,
And drinks this lovely vision in, and knows that she’s reserved for Him!
He looks at her with perfect pride, a love that cannot be denied,
A heart that wells up deep inside with love for His eternal Bride!
Where joy is full and tears are dried, this Cosmic Romance will abide…

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread