I recently attended a wedding of a friend. It was an extremely beautiful wedding that clearly reflected the gospel. As I turned to see the bride walking down the aisle I was blown away. She was breathtaking. Her face was shining with excitement for her husband. She had an aura that was exuding deep love. I watched as she approached the altar, the groom waiting eagerly to accept his bride. Weddings are so beautiful, especially in light of Ephesians 5:25-27 where we are told that Christ sacrificed himself for his bride, the church. He washed her and cleansed her so that she could be presented radiant, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Christ gave himself up for his church, of which we (Christians) are a part. We have been made a beautiful bride, walking down the aisle excited for her husband. As a Christian, I have committed my life to following Jesus Christ. He is my king. Because of the price I was bought at and because of my commitment to him, God has every right to be jealous for me; a husband has a right to be jealous for his wife. One of many great things about God is his fierce jealously for us. God's heart is jealous for me, and I am his. Why would a bride, pure and clean, throw herself into the arms of another man? Why would I, forgiven and redeemed, defile myself and insult God by worshiping another "god"? Why did the Israelites build the golden calf? They were bored and impatient (Exodus 32:1). How moronic! How blind can some people be? They were there when the ten plagues happened, they saw the Red Sea parted, they ate food that fell from the sky. The Israelites had experienced firsthand God's total faithfulness, yet they couldn't remain faithful themselves. Oh God! How I don't want to be like them! Let us never forget his love for us, let us never forget his faithfulness to us, let us never forget his pursuit of us, let us never forget Jesus.
