A Men’s Event, A Wedding and A Sermon

I had a pretty eventful weekend last week and it really tied together in a big way by Sunday evening.

On Friday, I went to a men’s event where a man from South Africa charged our men to stand up for their wives, their families and ultimately for God. It was a great reminder and chilling to see men willing to commit to being change in our nation that continues to drift further away from Christ.

On Saturday, I watched some friends of mine get married and I was stunned when I saw them looking at each other as they read their vows. They looked like the happiest people on the planet in that moment. It was a wet day, but the heart-felt ceremony, the family together and so many other details made the day pretty special.

On Sunday, our pastor spoke of two very difficult chapters in Revelation where God will judge the earth. It’s a pretty difficult message but the challenge was again to take our faith seriously because we are called to live lives committed to the Gospel. We are called to love and help those whom God loves so that they will avoid an eternity away from him.

I felt like I was given a picture in my mind from these three events:

In the Bible, the Church (with a capital C) is the Bride of Christ and Jesus is the Bridegroom. The Bible calls for all believers to set their lives aside for the sake of the Gospel. We are called to no longer live for ourselves, but for him. We are to live for our Bridegroom. This relationship, calls for a full commitment, whether as living sacrifices or even dying for our faith as so many believers around the world are today. (over 150,000 Christians died for their faith in 2008)

But when we look at Revelation, the final few chapters end in a wedding. I love these words from Revelation 19:

7 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;

8 it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” [1]

In my mind, I was taken back to the wedding I saw this weekend from my thoughts in Revelation. Whether symbolic or literal, when Jesus returns, a wedding will take place. Jesus will be together with His Church forever. In my head, I see our Bridegroom who sacrificed everything to make a way to be with His Bride. I see a Bride who has made herself ready by following after her Bridegroom in obedience and sacrifice. The Bride loves her husband and there is this moment of anticipation. As my friends, who spoke their vows and looked at each other with all the love possible in a moment, our moment will be one we have all been waiting for. Jesus, having proven himself to his Bride through his saving sacrifice stares in love at His Bride who has suffered because she has loved him.

And, this wedding day will be just the beginning. Revelation 21:4-5 states:

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” [2]

This will be a day to remember for eternity and it will be worth everything we sacrifice in this life and more. However, I am then reminded that the day is not here yet. We have a mission and a job to do because we love him. We have a Bridegroom to follow after and He is worth our very lives.


[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Re 19:7–9). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Re 21:4–5). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.