The Bride ~ Who She Is

Picture yourself in a park—walking along the pathways and enjoying the beautiful gardens and fall colors.  Then, as you’re going about and minding your own business, the most beautifully dressed, beaming bride walks quickly past you.  As you watch her travel down the path, you can’t get over how joyful, excited, and simply radiant the young woman dressed in white looked nor can you forget the distant gleam in her eye.  Also, you remember noticing the huge diamond ring shimmering on her finger, and you can’t help wondering who the groom is and what he must be like in order to ignite so much wonder, excitement, and distraction.  Based on the size and beauty of the engagement ring, you guess that the groom must be rather wealthy.  So you wonder, who is this bride and what is her story that she—a girl obviously engaged to a very affluent man and decked out in all her bridal finery—would be walking in your humble city park?

​Now you may smile at this hypothetical story and think, “What a sweet story.  But news flash, this is complete fiction and doesn’t really happen in everyday life.”  But, ladies, while I may have conjured up this particular example from my imagination, the cast, the elements, and the descriptions represented are not fiction, but depict a reality that few recognize.  This is not simply a made up story, but actually an allegory to who we are as Christ’s Bride and what the watching world ought to see.  The world is looking at us from the perspective that I gave you in the allegory, and they should be wondering at our position as an elegantly adorned and glowing bride.  However, the disappointing thing is that we—as the bride in the story—are often not as filled with joy, excitement, and wonder as I portrayed, and thus the world does not question and speculate at who we are and what our story is.  Maybe you don’t recognize yourself as the exuberant bride in this allegory and are perhaps thinking, “That can’t be me, because I sure don’t feel like a well-loved bride-to-be dressed in wedding finery.”  Whether that’s you or whether you’re confident in your position as Christ’s Bride, we’re going to explore the answers to the questions I posed in the allegory.  So before jumping down to the next paragraph, go back and re-read the allegory at the beginning of this post.
 
The first question we’re going to answer is:  who is this bride?  The Bible tells us that the Church is the Bride of Christ, and as a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a member of Christ’s Church.  So all that God says is true about His Church is true about you too.  Therefore, going back to the question of “Who is this bride?” the answer is that she is you. 
 
Did you catch that and its significance?  Give it a moment to sink in.  You, not your neighbor or close friend that you look up to, but you—as a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ—are His Bride.  You are the young woman in our allegory wearing resplendent clothing and a gigantic diamond ring.  And like her, you’re the one who is totally and completely taken by the One who has won your heart.  This is your story and the truth of who you are.
 
Has the amazement and wonder of the significance of being Christ’s Bride hit you full force yet?  Not yet?!  Well don’t worry, I haven’t given you enough information yet for the wonder of it all to come crashing down upon you.  And because you’ve probably heard the message of being Christ’s Bride multiple times, the concept isn’t new to you.  So in order to really understand the significance of the fact that you are Christ’s Bride, we must first look at her condition, status, and identity, and the character and story of her Groom.  In the meantime, go back and re-read the opening paragraph, putting yourself as the bride.  Can you relate to her?  Do you share in her joy, excitement, and wonder?  Are you living your everyday life as if her story is your story and the truth of who you are?