Christmas Devotion - The Bridegroom

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah! 
For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 
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.
Fine linen, bright and clean was given her to wear."
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God." 
-- Revelation 19:9

I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.
-- Hosea 2:19-20

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. 
-- John 14:1-3

God is not content to be known merely as Creator, Lord or even Father. Incredibly He reveals Himself also as Bridegroom or Husband. The Hebrew Scriptures contain numerous allusions to Yahweh as Israel's divine Husband, and the New Testament presents Christ as the church's Bridegroom. He is the Holy One who did not cling to His divinity but left His Father's house to dwell among us, calling us to become one with Him in the most intimate way possible. To all of us, male and female, Christ offers Himself as our provider, protector, the One who has forever pledged Himself in faithfulness and love.

Although God's people have turned away from Him time and time again in disobedience, God made the most gracious gesture imaginable. He came Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, to call His people back. Just like a Jewish groom, Jesus left His Father's house to come and pay the bride price for His beloved. But instead of paying in so many coins, Jesus secured the marriage covenant with His own blood.

God loves us as a bridegroom who is passionately in love with his bride. Let us pray today for the grace to understand the lengths to which God has already gone to unite us to Himself. And let us heed the voice of Jesus who tells us not to let our hearts be troubled as we wait for Him, but to take heart because He is preparing a place for us in Heaven.

Discuss: What do you think it means that Jesus is the bridegroom?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You left Your Father's house to come to earth and claim me as Your own. Thank you for showing me what love is by the way You lived Your life. Preserve me from both worldliness and weariness as I await Your coming. I pray that on that great and terrible day, I, along with all Your people, will be ready, eagerly awaiting Your return as our Savior and our Bridegroom. In Your precious name I pray, Lord Jesus, Amen.

Songs: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Wedding Day by Casting Crowns