Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Looking forward to a marriage

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3

As I write this, I am three days away from Aaron and my fourth anniversary. I remember how, as our wedding approached, I had dedicated myself to him. The plans and preparations were almost finished, and the anticipation of that amazing day was building. I was so excited and could not stop talking about it! 

In ancient Jewish engagements, the groom spent about a year building a dwelling onto or next to his father’s house where he and his bride would live. The groom waited for the father to decide when the preparation was ready enough before he told him to get his bride. Therefore, the bride never knew the exact date the groom would arrive. She only knew the season.

What she did during this waiting time was amazing.

First, she waited for the groom to come. She didn’t divide her affections to things that would distract her for longing to be with the groom.

Therefore, the second thing she did was to keep herself pure - for without purity there would be no wedding. Her purity was a gift to the groom for the love he had for her and the sacrifice he was making to provide a beautiful life for her.

The third thing she did was tell others the great news of the groom and her wedding! It would be a time of celebration and she was excited!

Scripturally, we are in the season right now of waiting for Jesus Christ, the Groom, to come back for the Church, His Bride. We should be making the same sort of preparations the Jewish bride made before her wedding day.

It is sad that even though the catching away (rapture) of the church and the next coming of Christ is talked about second only to salvation in Scripture, many in the church don’t want to talk about it at all. Could you imagine telling a bride at this time, “You shouldn’t be excited about it, you shouldn’t be looking for the groom, and shouldn’t even want to talk about it?” No, we would never expect a bride to do that. So why do people expect the church to do the very same thing?

Let’s have the marriage promised by the Groom in mind, and may it help us do these things: 1) Look for Christ, 2) Live pure before Him, and 3) Tell others about Him so they can be a part of the bride (the church) as well.

Let’s start believing and talking about this most exciting news! Let’s look toward eternity, and let’s look forward to the marriage!