I Am My Beloved

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Bride of Christ

Look long enough in the eyes of our Savior and, there you will see a bride. . . .He see her, he awaits her, he longs for her.

And who is that bride? Who is this beauty who occupies the heart of Jesus?

You are. You have captured the heart of God. "As a man rejoices over his new wife, so your God will rejoice over you" (Isaiah 62:5)

The challenge is to remember that. To mediate on it. To focus on it. To allow his love to change the way you look at you.

You have been chosen by Christ. You are released from your old life in your old house, and he has claimed you as his beloved. "Then where is he?" you might ask. "Why hasn't he come?"

There is only one answer. His bride is not ready. She is still being prepared.

Engaged people are obsessed with preparation. The right dress. The right weight. The right hair and the right tux. They want everything to be right. Why? So their intended will marry them? No. Just the opposite. They want to look their best because their intended is marrying them.

The same is true for us. We want to look our best for Christ. We want out hearts to be pure and our thoughts to be clean. We want our faces to shine with grace and our to eyes to sparkle with love. We want to be prepared.

Why? In hopes that he will love us? No. Just the opposite, because he already does.

You are spoken for. You are engaged, set apart, called out, a holy bride. Forbidden waters hold nothing for you. You have been chosen for his castle. Don't settle for one-night stands in the arms of a stranger. Be obsessed with your wedding date. Guard against forgetfulness. Be intolerant of memory lapses. Write yourself notes. Memorize verses. Do whatever you need to do to remember. "Aim at what is in heaven. Think only about the things in heaven" (Colossians 3:1-2). You are engaged to royalty, and your Prince is coming to take you home.


STUDY GUIDES

READ MATTHEW 26:1-13

* If someone asked you why Jesus would come back to earth for you, how would you respond?

* What keeps us from believing that God longs to be with us?

* In what ways does the church in today's society need to be more prepared to meet her groom, Christ?

* What kind of life do we need to live to be ready for Jesus, our spiritual bride-groom?

* For what reasons do you think God chose to keep the time of Christ's return a secret?

* Does the unexpected nature of Christ's return make you more wary or less about his coming?

* Describe the ways that we can keep watch for Christ's return, even though the timing will be unexpected?

* In what ways do you think we an best prepare for seeing Jesus?

The Devotional Bible - Experiencing the Heart of Jesus; Max Lucado General Editor, Thomas Nelson Publishers, New Century Version.