In our last visit we considered what it means to be born again as declared in John 3:1-16. Reading on in John 3 Jesus is introduced by John the Baptist to his disciples as the bridegroom.
A bridegroom alone is an unfulfilled picture of love. A bridegroom married to a bride is the most beautiful picture of a love relationship fulfilled. It also is a unique picture God presents in His Word of the kind of a relationship He wants each human being to have with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Over the years I’ve had the privilege of meeting with many couples planning to get married. Some I knew for years before they sat in my office in pre marital counseling. Others I met for the first time when they came to me to prepare for their marriage. I always took time to get acquainted with how they met, got into a relationship and saw it develop to the point where they wanted to get married.
After listening to them describe how their relationship developed I usually point out that had I asked them if they had a relationship when they first started dating they probably would have answered “Yes.” If I asked them the same question after they were dating for some time they would have answered “Yes” as well. And if I asked them as an engaged couple they would answer “Yes.” They would answer “Yes,” if I asked the same question after they were married.
But the relationship they had was different at each of those stages. Their answers were correct, but they described different degrees of a developing relationship. In our next visit I’ll share how all of this helps us better understand a relationship with Jesus Christ.
