Beyond the Wedding!


Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "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.
Ephesians 5:25-32

As a young man, after I met and fell in love with the girl that would become my wife, I looked forward to one thing. I looked forward to the day when we would declare to the entire world that we loved each other and were committing our lives to live together as one. That is the day Linda became my bride! But when I look back on more than forty years of marriage I see so much more than our wedding day. I see children and grandchildren. I see adventure and the many times we launched out in faith to go where we believed God was leading us. And yes, I see much sorrow and grief that we walked through together. The wedding day was just the beginning of an amazing life as husband and wife.

Today I stand and look forward to the return of Jesus Christ and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. From this perspective it is all I can think about. The trumpet will sound and time will be no more! Eternity with Jesus will begin and there will be no more pain, suffering, crying and death! But what will happen then?

The Bible says that no one has seen or imagined what God has planned for us in Heaven. Suffice it to say that Eternity as the Bride of Christ is the foundational reality of an existence beyond comprehension. Will there be joy? Oh yes! Will there be constant fulfillment? Oh yes! Will there be a relationship with Jesus that goes beyond anything we have or could ever imagine? Most certainly!

The Bible calls the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to be like an earnest payment. The Holy Spirit, dwelling in you, is a down payment on the riches of Heaven. The man who walks continually being led by the Holy Spirit who lives in him is only touching the hem of the garment of life in Heaven after the Wedding.

As my wedding day approached I let nothing and no one distract my thoughts from the one I would soon wed. It was for me the pinnacle of human experience.

As you see the day approaching for Jesus to come and claim His Bride let nothing and no one distract your thoughts from the One who is coming. It will be the pinnacle of all experience! After that comes Eternal Life together with Jesus! There are no human words capable of describing the ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE of Life Beyond the Wedding!