Everyone loves a wedding.

Everyone loves a wedding.

It seems to be engagement season! My favorite season! Everywhere I look, I see couples falling in love, getting engaged and tying the knot! And it’s all so beautiful!

On New Year ’s Eve my brother-in-law got engaged and so did a good friend! These two events sent me into wedding fever! My time is now consumed with pintrest wedding boards, wedding dress websites, stalking people on Facebook I barely know just to get a glimpse of the dress and flowers, and reminiscing as I look back on my own wedding photos. I know. Pathetic. What can I say – I LOVE weddings!

But to top it all off, I recently found The Bachelorette: Ashley and JPs Wedding on hulu+. (Yeah, you can judge me for this) I was so excited to watch the 2 hour TV special about the couple’s happy day and as watched, I started to see a theme emerge: people love weddings. People love to watch others in love. And they all wish that against all odd the couple stays in love forever.

I recently had a conversation with a dear friend about the sudden wedding/engagement fever that has been going on around us. And as we discussed marriage and relationships someone uttered the phrase: “well no one wants someone to get divorced!” But as we all know, the sad truth is that divorce is an all too common thing in our generation and culture. Which begs the question, why are so many people clinging to the idea of a lifelong marriage when they know the statistics belittle such an idea?

For those of you who are judging me for watching the bachelor/bachelorette, it’s ok. I know it’s ridiculous. But the one thing I always find interesting is how determined all the participants are on finding lasting, true love. These people aren't there for flings, they want eternal love. And they chase this idea of true love even though many are on the other side of their previous “happily ever after”.

People love wedding because they want to believe true love still exist. That lasting love exists. And why do they want to believe this? Because at their core this was what they were made for: a perfect, eternal, true love.

“I was made to love you. I was made to find you. I was made just for you, made to adore you. I was made to love and be loved by you. You were here before me. You were waiting on me. And you said you’d keep me, never would you leave me. I was made to love and be loved by you.” 

The “you” in this song refers to God. I love this song by tobyMac because I feel that it so perfectly articulates what all these people hearts are yearning for when they go into a wedding, hoping, praying, that maybe just maybe this will be an everlasting love.

We were made to love and be loved by God. Throughout the Bible, but especially in the book of Revelation, we are given a beautiful picture of a wedding. We are given a picture of a bridegroom preparing a place for his bride and how he will come redeem her and together they will live happily ever after. Seriously.

For all of you who thought the Bible was a boring, old book full of dos and don’ts – you’re wrong! It’s really the most beautiful love story ever written! See the bridegroom is Christ, who is God. And his bride is his church. And by church I mean all that love him (unfortunately there are many people in the “church” who don’t love him and there are some who love him but have been pushed out of the church - but that’s another topic).

 Ok, so back to the bridegroom/bride thing. First off, don’t be weirded by the terminology, when people think marriage they think sex but don’t worry God doesn't want to have sex with you but he does want intimacy with you (the whole reason he created sex in the first place). But again. Focus! Think about that couple you know who just has the best marriage. What does it look like? The key characteristic is probably love. but not the ooey goey love (though that might be there to) but true love. unconditional love. This is the kind of love God has for you. Yet, so much better because it’s true unconditional love. we humans have yet to master complete unconditional love. but God has. and that’s how he feels about you.

But like in all good marriages there needs to mutuality of love. If some dude falls helplessly in love with you but you could care less, you two probably aren't going to have a great marriage (if you get married at all). That’s how it is with God. We are his bride or at least he wants us to be. But we have to accept his proposal. Now let me be clear, even if you throw the ring back in his face, call him a liar and cheater, he will always, always, always continue to love you! But are you going to be married? Nope. Which means you are going to miss out on all that great stuff being married brings, like that great house (aka heaven) he is preparing for you.

So what’s the point of this now seemingly endless blog. God loves you and he wants you to accept his proposal so that he can be your perfect groom. And what is this proposal you may ask. Belief. This is the only thing God asks of us.  “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

When you accept what Christ did on the cross for you, you will experience the love of God. And this makes you his bride. This is what you were created for. To be his bride. To love God and to be loved by him.

This is why people love weddings. Weddings are a beautiful illustration of the love between God and his people and deep down everyone longs for that eternal love only God can give.

So next time you’re at a wedding, rejoice with the happy couple. But let their love and happiness remind you of a much greater, stronger love.

For some of you this may be old news. others it may be old news but with a new face. but for still others, this may be new, confusing, or just plain weird. Either way, you have questions, comments,  or nasty remarks email me by clicking here. Or you can leave a comment. ~ EJ