The wedding held at mine and hubby’s home this past Saturday was quite sudden. With only 10 days’ notice, there was no time to “prepare properly” to make sure everything was “just right.”
The yard and the property were going to have to be good enough as they were. It is what it is.
The suddenness of it all was a very real and vivid picture for me of what Jesus’s coming will be like!
The Bible describes Jesus as the “Groom,” and those who love and follow Jesus as his “Bride.”
Jesus is in Heaven right now preparing a place for his “Bride.” He will return again! … to take His “Bride” to be with Him in Heaven forever!
And when He returns, His return will be sudden!
Here you can see the area in front of our house several years ago, shortly after we purchased the property. It was a mess! This front “flowerbed” area was overrun with salal, blackberry vines, sword ferns, bracken ferns, half-decaying stumps, etc. It was unkempt. It was not very inviting-looking. It was a mess!
This right here is what it looks like when we say “I Do” to Jesus and give our life fully and completely to Jesus Christ!
Our life is a mess with sin! But that’s ok … Jesus loves us! Jesus will restore us and renew us! Jesus will help us clear away the “mess” and “weeds” of sin. Jesus will make something beautiful out of our life!
Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit to help us in the clean-up effort! In the above photo, you can see hubby hard at work in the front “flowerbed” area. It is hard work to clear away the “mess” and “weeds” of sin in our life. But the Holy Spirit helps us!
The Holy Spirit helps us “dig up all the salal roots”! The Holy Spirit helps us “root out the bracken fern runners”! The Holy Spirit helps us “grind out the half-decayed stumps”!
The Holy Spirit helps us “plant new, beautiful plants”! (aka: new habits, new thoughts, new patterns, etc.)
The Holy Spirit helps us recognize that the “plants” we originally planted there don’t really go there after all. The Holy Spirit helps us “move plants around.” The Holy Spirit provides “free loads of bark chips” to spread throughout the area. (aka: wisdom to nurture us and help us spiritually grow)
It’s a process!
Here you can see this exact same area just two months ago, this past March. It looks much better! Is it “perfect”? No. There is still a lot more “growth” which needs to occur in this area before it is “mature” and “complete.” But it is getting there. It is a process.
And as you can see in the photo, it is snowing!
This is what our life as the “Bride” of Jesus Christ is like. Our Christian growth is a process. Is our life “perfect”? No. Is there still a lot more “growth” which needs to occur in our life? Absolutely. Will we go through barren snowy winter seasons? For sure.
As the “Bride” of Jesus Christ, we are awaiting Jesus’s return to take us to Heaven! But we don’t know when that will be. It is going to be sudden!
As sudden as finding out that a very special wedding is going to be taking place, at our house, in just 10 days’ time!
It is a good thing that the front flowerbed area has been in process these past few years! It might not be absolutely “mature” and “complete” … but it is beautiful for hosting a wedding.
This is exactly what our Christian life is like, as we await the return of Jesus Christ to take us to Heaven! Our life won’t be absolutely “mature” and “complete” … but as we daily, regularly work on our spiritual growth, our life can be beautiful (at any moment!) to meet our groom!
Here you can see the wildflowers blooming nearby the front flowerbed area. I scattered wildflower seeds last Spring. The wildflowers bloomed beautifully all last Summer … and re-seeded themselves in the Fall … coming back to grow in even greater abundance this year!
These wildflowers could represent the “seeds” we sow throughout our life as we share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. They could also represent “seeds” of kindness which we sow into the lives of others. “Seeds” of love. “Seeds” of compassion, and mercy. “Seeds” of forgiveness, and grace.
If we are on the “I Do Crew!” then Jesus wants us to be scattering “seeds” all throughout our life!
When our groom, Jesus Christ, suddenly returns for us … will there be an abundance of beautiful blooms all throughout life from the “seeds” we scattered last year? … five years ago? … ten years ago??
Here you can see hubby’s and my garden this year. It is absolutely pitiful! The weather has been so cold & rainy this year that the seeds have had a very hard time sprouting! And not only that, as soon as the tiny little seeds sprout, the slugs have been eating off completely all the tender green new leaves.
This could represent the “seeds” we sow throughout our life (as we share the good news of Jesus Christ with others) … but the “seeds” can’t sprout because it is too spiritually “cold” … or because “slugs” eat away all the tender new growth.
This could represent the enemy snatching away the good news of Jesus Christ from those whom we share the good news with. This could represent our love and kindness being trampled. This could represent our forgiveness and grace being “eaten away”.
When our groom, Jesus Christ, suddenly returns for us … will there be evidence that we’ve been hard at work trying to scatter “seeds”? … even if the enemy has been busy “snatching away” our “seed” … or “trampling” our “seed” … or “eating away” our “seed”??
Back behind our garden the pretty yellow irises are blooming, which were a gift from our neighbor down the street and around the corner. This could represent the “gifts” which others share with us. “Gifts” such as their kindness to us … their loving service to us … their encouragement to us.
When we have needs, do we allow others into our life to share their “gifts” with us? Do we allow them into our life to pray for us and to bless us?
Or are we so busy trying to serve & do things for Jesus, that we have a hard time accepting the “gifts” which others want to share with us?
When our groom, Jesus Christ, suddenly returns for us … will there be beautiful blooms in our life from the “gifts” which others have shared with us?? Are the “blooms” from their “gifts” brightening our lives with a splash of joyful color?
The wedding which occurred at our home this past Saturday was so sudden that there was no chance to do any weeding! As the wedding guests were milling about before, during, and after the ceremony, hubby was suddenly very aware of the weeds which were growing up underneath the back deck! Weeds which we had not had time to pull up.
Not only that! … but the photographers chose the far side of the house as the special photo spot to take photos of the bride with all her bridesmaids. Oh dear! Hubby and I never go on that side of the house. It had not even occurred to us to weed the flower beds on that side of the house!
When our groom, Jesus Christ, suddenly returns for us … will there be corners of our life where “weeds” of sin are growing?? Areas of our life that we haven’t thought much about?? Areas of our life which are “tucked away” and “hidden out of sight”??
When our groom, Jesus Christ, suddenly returns for us … will there be “weeds” which we are suddenly very aware of, and ashamed for our groom to see??
Jesus Christ is our Groom. And we are the “Bride” of Christ!
When Jesus Christ returns suddenly for us … will you be ready??
