The True Bridegroom

It has been over a year since I have blogged, not because I haven't had many things to say but because of busyness. I concluded another semester at Westminster Seminary California, started a full-time job in Carlsbad, and am still overseeing 25-30 people in my missional community at Kaleo Church in El Cajon. Amongst the busyness, one thing has continued to overwhelm me with goodness...my wife.

Jenn and I have been married for 640 days now. We came into the marriage with a passion for Christ, his Gospel, and his Church. We understood that marriage was created and instituted by God to show the marvelous mystery of the Gospel to the world. In fact, we understood that our sole purpose in the marriage was the glory of God alone. As I was counting the days we have been in union together I asked myself, "How well have we done at glorifying our great God in our marriage?" We have passionately shepherded and loved those we oversee. We have served our community by pouring ourselves out for them. We have learned to communicate in ways that help keep unity in our marriage when the enemy whispers lies of deceit. Above all we have relentlessly pursued one another with grace and love.

But you see, the question still lingered in my mind, "Have we glorified our God with our marriage?" Yes, we love each other massively but has our God been glorified? To help answer this question I want to look at John 2:1-12. In the first sign in John's Gospel, we have a wedding party that runs out of wine. Now, in this context it was the bridegroom's responsibility to provide the wine. Imagine all your family and friends who have traveled to come be a part of this extravagant affair. Imagine in the middle of the celebration when you realize the wine is out. What will people think?

Jesus comes to the rescue and turns six stone jars full of water, holding 20-30 gallons each, into the finest wine. Imagine the shock the bridegroom would be feeling. Would he be thankful? Of course! Yet, does he glorify God in such a miraculous sign? Nope. If we look at v.9-10 the master comes and praises the bridegroom for saving the best wine for last and the bridegroom doesn't say a thing, at least as far as John records.

The point of this text is that Jesus is showing his first sign. The first sign the King shows to the world is at a wedding, has to do with wine, and is about our joy. When we realize our God is for our joy, we can glorify him. The sign was not the end purpose though, every sign in John's Gospel points to a reality. The reality this is meant to show us is that the stone jars that were used for ritual cleansing are filled with wine. This is ultimately pointing to the true cleansing which is by Christ's blood, not ritual washing. The New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) is about bridegrooms like this and like me who are about their own glory, being washed in the blood of the True Bridegroom Jesus Christ. When we have been cleansed by his relentless love, we then can be about manifesting his glory (v.12) and not our own.

So, have Jenn and I glorified God with our marriage? I believe yes and no. When I do things out of selfishness while using Jesus as a way to coerce Jenn into "Godly behavior" of course not. But when we are honest about our sin, confessing them to one another and God, and ultimately reminding one another of the Gospel we can then point at his grace and give him the glory. I can say one thing with all assurance, I adore my wife like no other. She often has my attention more than my Savior does. Her beauty, her love for me, her being a place of safety, the list can go on and on. My beloved bride often is where all my attention and desires rest. Yet, it is in the times where I realize that if I love her as much as I do than God's love for his children is far too large for me to comprehend. It is when I realize that he loves her far more, is pursuing her perfectly, and that he will one day stand at the wedding feast and present her as a perfect spotless bride that I will stand in gratitude and glorify him for loving her better than I ever could.

Thank you King Jesus for being the perfect husband. Thank you God for giving me a wife I adore and showing me that your love for us is an unleashed beast that will transform us into the image of your Son. I praise you and glorify you when I look into the beautiful green eyes of my bride and know that you will one day look into our eyes and welcome us into the New Heavens and New Earth. Thank you Lord for taking the sins of your people upon your body and cleansing us. Thank you for rising from the dead to proclaim your victory over your bride. Until the wedding feast my King teach us how to glorify you.