April 21, 2011
An Easter Bride
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7, NIV).
Friend to Friend
It was a beautiful day for a wedding. The sun shone brightly as the daffodils danced in the gentle breeze, nodding their happy faces in conversation. A choir of robins, cardinals, and finches sang rounds of cheerful melodies, which floated through a clear blue sky that was a reflection of the bride's sparkling eyes. The air had that unusual crisp quality of spring, reminding us of the chill from winter's past and the warmth of summer's promise.
The day was Easter Sunday of 1997, the day the groom had chosen to be joined to His beloved. Like the Jewish custom of old, he had proposed to his young maiden, and then promptly gone away to prepare a home for her. On this day, his father had signaled the home was ready and he could go to get his bride
Iris had been waiting for her husband to come and take her to the wonderful home that He had prepared for her. How like him to pick Easter, she thought to herself. My favorite day of the year.
She smiled as she heard Him coming, and her heart fluttered with the anticipation of seeing His face.
She wore a white dress with flecks of blue and carried a bouquet of pink carnations and white mums with a spray of asparagus fern as wispy as her baby-fine hair. A sweet smile spread across her face as she saw her beloved Jesus hold out His strong hand to help her cross the threshold of the temporal and into the hall of eternity. She walked into His loving embrace and drank in the loveliness of her surroundings which He had perfectly described in His many letters.
On Easter Sunday, in 1997, my husband's dear, sweet, 74-year-old Aunt Iris went home to be with the Lord. As we all gathered around to say our last good-byes, I could not manage to be mournful. Yes, I was going to miss her. But Iris had never been married on this side of eternity and the vision I had in my mind was of her joining the Lord as the Bride of Christ. For me, it was not a funeral. It was a wedding. It was what she had always longed for…a dream come true.
In Isaiah 61:3, the prophet describes what God will do for the Bride of Christ. He will bestow on her a crown of beauty instead of ashes, anoint her with the oil of gladness instead of mourning and place on her shoulders a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Are you feeling brokenhearted because of broken dreams? Have you been in mourning because your dream of being a bride has not turned out like you had hoped? God desires to blow away the ashes and place the crown of a royal bride on your head. So lift your head dear one, and accept your crown from the King of Kings.
Let’s Pray
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for choosing me to be the Bride for Your Son. I look forward to the day when I will be joined with my heavenly Bridegroom for all eternity. Until then, I will prepare myself to be the best bride I can be. In my Bridegroom’s Name I pray, Amen
Now It’s Your Turn
I asked my husband what picture came into his mind when he thought about himself as being a part of the Bride of Christ. He gave me a strange look and said, “Nothing really.”
Oh how precious that we girls can have the picture of walking down the aisle to meet our heavenly Bridegroom. Today, that’s what I want you to imagine. Just put that picture in your mind and savor it all day.
What picture comes into your mind when you think of yourself as the Bride of Christ? Log onto www.facebook.com/sharonjaynesand share with your girlfriends in God all around the world.
More from the Girlfriends
Today’s devotion was taken from Sharon’s new book, 5 Dreams of Every Woman and How God Wants to Fulfill Them (a new revised version of her previous book, Dreams of a Woman). This book is for every woman whose life hasn’t turned out like she dreamed it would…and I think that includes most of us. Can you risk the hope that God still has dreams for your life? That He hasn’t forgotten you? Place your hand firmly in His--take a deep breath and begin the exciting journey to a place you thought you’d never find: the dream God planned for you all along. Let’s dare to dream again!
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Originally published Thursday, 21 April 2011.
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