Although I really need to post a general life update, instead I’m going to share my thoughts on a faith topic that I’ve been thinking about. As you may have guessed, that topic is the Church as the Bride of Christ. I’ll allow the explanation of what it means to be the bride of Christ to come from sources other than myself.
According to Scripture (this is only one of many references):
Ephesians 5:22-33 (ESV)
22Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27so 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. 28In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.33However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Additional Thoughts from Gospel.com:
The Christian church is sometimes referred to as the “bride of Christ”–a metaphor that illustrates that closeness of Christ’s relationship with his church, and the depth of love and service that he holds for the church.
While I have known about this concept for some time, a particular aspect of it was illuminated for me tonight. Being a woman, the thought of being a bride has crossed my mind more than just a few times in my life. One thing that I have always planned to do when engaged is to take any necessary steps to make sure that I am in the best possible physical shape, and that I look beautiful on my wedding day. It is very common for brides to go to great lengths to make sure that everything in perfect for that ‘special day’. In light of that, I was struck tonight by how much more we should prepare as part of the church to be the bride of Christ. We should be working tirelessly to cut out sin and draw closer to God both corporately and individually.
What a powerful image that is for me! So often I view the sanctification process as a necessary evil, but in this light it is still a hard process, but what an exciting moment we have to look forward to when we see Jesus, our ‘groom’ , on ‘the wedding day’ (judgement). If there is any wedding that I want to prepare for, it is definitely that one!
Let me know if you have any thoughts!
Much Love,
Sarah
p.s. If you haven’t already, you can sign up to get my new posts sent directly to your email in the right-hand sidebar. 🙂
Adventures of Our Own 