By Pastor Daniel 

Introduction
As I think of our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, there is one which is described in the context of marriage - the bride and the groom. Perhaps this is the most intimate of all relationships.  The bonding of two persons in union as one.
 
This relationship is spelt out throughout scriptures - from the Old Testament through the last book of the Bible.
 
A Commitment
The very first incident we have of God’s relationship with His people is pictured in the prophet of Hosea.  It is indeed a story of unshifted commitment.  Regardless of Gomer’s unfaithfulness, Hosea remained faithful.
 
The story of Hosea and Gomer is itself a prophecy of Yahweh God and Israel.  The beauty of the drama between this couple is the persistent faithfulness of Hosea, a faithfulness that is out of this world, a love that is truly unbroken and unconditional.
 
In Hosea 3:1, is stated, “And the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.”
 
It speaks to us about the love of God that will continue to pursue us even when we ignore him and play the adulteress.  When we come to recognize the love of God, we will inevitably run to Him.  God made a covenant with Israel, God made a commitment with us as His people and His children.  We are His by commitment, like that of a marriage - to promise to love.
 
A Sacrifice of Love
Then as we move to the New Testament, one of those passages that speaks so clearly to us in this kind of a relationship is found in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..”  These words are given in a marriage context between husband and wife, where the wife is to submit to her husband and the husband to love his wife.
 
The allusion then given was the sacrificial love of Christ towards the church.  In this marriage context, Paul summarizes in verse 32, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”  That is how God sees us.  That is how God relates to us.  We are His bride and the object of His love.  He would do anything for her to the extent of giving his life for us.  This is not just a metaphor or an expression or other figure of speech to tell someone you love her.  It is literal and it is a reality.  That is why God came to this world in Christ - to die in our place, that in his death, we might have life.
 
There is no God in any other religion that would do that.  God is simply too transcendent to do that.  But in Christianity, God seeks for the lost, the willingness to die for the lost so that we can be restored to God in this union of love.
 
As we hold on to that thought, we rest in the assurance that God will, in loving us, also provide, protect and assure us of His love.  Would we who know this great and loving God, look for another?
 
A Beauty of Anticipation
Continuing from the thought in Ephesians is also this note in verse 26-27, “... that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
 
I think this is one beautiful thought and picture when we think of our relationship with God.  For those who are married, we can identify with this clearly, how the anticipation was on the day of your wedding as husband - the sheer delight when you see your bride walk down the aisle. 
 
That is our anticipation when we meet the lover of our soul.  It is not just getting to heaven and remain invisible - it would be spectacular where angels longed to look.
 
In the book of Revelation 21:9, “Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb...”
 
This bride on that day, will indeed be spotless and without wrinkle, holy unto the Lamb.  We enter the presence of God as a display of the great work of God who has redeemed and restored the bride, the church, believers like you and I.
 
Conclusion
When I thought of that, I cannot help but to think and thank God for his great love.  A relationship that lasts and a relationship that brings out the beauty of the bride by what the groom does.  He will be faithful - let us be faithful.  He has sacrificed his life for us - let us be committed to Him. He will present us beautiful - let us walk in newness of life, exhibiting the beauty of Christ in us.