This past Sunday (6-10-12) I concluded the series of messages on the church speaking of the church as the Bride of Christ. This image has greatly impacted me, as I referred to in the closing statements of the message.
Here is just a few thoughts of the impact:
1. We need to let the thought that "we are the bride of Christ" deeply impact us. We have been chosen by God to be the bride for His only Son. This is our source of confidence and self-worth; not selfish pools filled with sin and selfishness. He will always be faithful to us. He will never divorce us. He loves us unconditionally. He sacrificially gave Himself for us and continues to do so through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
2. We need to reflect our commitment and passionate love to our husband (Christ) that He has for us. Just as no husband or wife should have a great commitment to any other human being than each other, so our greatest relationship value should be our Lord.
3. We need to reflect our commitment and passionate love for the Bride, just as Christ has expressed. Who is the Bride of Christ? No one single person. The Bride is plural. The church is the Bride of Christ and I believe you can find His Bride at a local address of believers. We are the visible Bride and Body of Christ to a watching world. The church needs a higher priority than we currently do to His Bride and Body. This commitment is not due to who the pastor is or is not. This commitment is not due to whether our current local church "meets all our needs" or not (and it is never meant to do that anyway....). Our commitment to the local church is a direct reflection of our value of being a member of the Bride of Christ.
No converted, Spirit-filled believer will habitually miss regular attendance at the local Bride shop.
I will continue tomorrow....
