We are the Bride of Christ
by Teri Anderson
Today’s Treasure
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
Revelation 21: 1-3
Our new decade opened with slogans of “seeing clearly” and “having 2020 vision.” Little did we know! It’s been a rough year, hasn’t it? Collectively, we’ve experienced a global pandemic, a hard fought quarantine, losses of health, life, and income, only to be followed by an unjust death, peaceful protests, then destructive riots and looting. Sometimes, as I switch off TV news, I sigh, “and they lived “happily ever after.” Isn’t that our heart’s cry when we think about life? In our house, we remind ourselves, “We aren’t in Heaven yet.” This week, each Daily Treasure has reminded us that God does know and still dwells with us. We’ve meditated on being a united family, a household, and a body gifted for the common good.
Creation was originally perfect in all ways. Shalom existed. Shalom or Peace can be described as a sense of completeness, wholeness, tranquility, of complete well-being. Relationships with God, others, and ourselves were designed to embody Shalom in that perfect Garden. The Fall broke everything. But God promised restoration. “I will make my dwelling among you . . . I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.” (Leviticus 26:11-12) In the Bible, God’s presence with His people moves from the tabernacle to the temple and then dwells bodily with us. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) He dwells with us now having sealed us with the Holy Spirit, a guarantee of our eternal relationship with God. Shalom will be fully restored only in the New Heavens and New Earth. Today’s verses affirm our ultimate destiny as His Bride, our future hope.
LIFE GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
Knowing what our future Hope looks like helps us cope and endure the earthly challenges sent our way. What allows us to trust and look to Him in faith? His betrothal to us guarantees the permanence of the relationship because God initiates the betrothal, He establishes it. “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me … I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord.” (Hosea 2:19-20) Betrothal is the final step in a courtship that involves paying a “bride-price,” a dowry, to the bride’s father. Jesus was the “bride-price,” reconciling us to God, to others, and to ourselves by living a perfect life and taking our punishment in his death. God guarantees the marriage to the Bride of Christ when He calls us to this permanent covenant with Him. He is walking with us now during His engagement to us as the Bride, and He is the one who will host the wedding feast of the Lamb.
When God saves us, He promises us a “love that will not let me go.” The apostle Paul in Romans describes the true promise of “happily ever after” for those whom God calls to Himself:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39
PRAYER
The New Heaven and the New Earth will be the consummation of all God’s promises. When we gather with our local churches tomorrow, look forward and anticipate a taste of that celebratory worship at the wedding feast of the Lamb. Reflect in prayer today on the ways we are even now called to corporately display His glory as His body, His household, His family, and His Bride.
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready.
Revelation 19:7
Teri Anderson - Teri and her husband, Mark, are members of Spring Meadows PCA in Las Vegas, NV. They have two adult “kids,” a son-in-law, & enjoy their 4 year old granddaughter as often as possible! Teri taught high school English, Computer Technology, and Gifted Education before beginning her motherhood role & a resulting home-based Mary Kay Cosmetics business, becoming a “mompreneur“ before it was trendy! Currently, as an Independent Sales Director, she provides training and mentoring for women of all ages across the USA. In the volunteer world, she served several terms as a Women’s Advisor to the Board of Covenant College, and as an Alpha Omicron Pi VP and International Board member. Locally, Teri has served on the Women’s Ministry Team and taught Sunday School and Bible Study. She has served as a PCA Women’s Ministry Trainer and retreat speaker since 2001.
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Contact Sharon with comments or questions at dailytreasure@markinc.org.