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FROM THE BETROTHED TO THE BRIDE – Ray E Horton
[Going through old Journals, I came upon this from December 27, 2006. I am really glad I have kept journals over the years.]
We are the beloved of God! We are united in Spirit! We need to more and more in our fleshly hearts reflect our spirits through the renewal of our minds by God’s Word. It is like planting seed in the fertile ground of a receptive heart drawn to close intimacy with the Lord in the Spirit.
God has made all people the betrothed of his son Jesus. He owns us – purchased us by the blood of Jesus. But, as in any would-be marriage, it is a two-way relationship. The groom’s proposal must be accepted by the betrothed. As a good groom, God has the right to us but will not force us into marriage.
He Desires Reciprocal Love
When we are born again, we go from the betrothed to the bride, with all the rights of the bride of intimacy, sharing of authority, possessions, inheritance and all that the groom has and is
He wants our willingness; He wants our reciprocal love. Any good groom wants good things for his wife. God owns all things, and greatly desires to share them with us.
How do we say “Yes” to his proposal? It’s when we believe and receive Jesus as born-again Christians. When we are born again, we go from the betrothed to the bride, with all the rights of the bride of intimacy, sharing of authority, possessions, inheritance and all that the groom has and is.
Before we are born again, we are greatly loved, but we have none of these rights. We cannot truly draw close and know him intimately. We can speak to him, do good things for him, but little is effective or truly matters until we believe his proposal and are married.
Yet marriage is just the beginning. We need to get to know each other better. The relationship, the intimacy needs to be developed. Often in a marriage, a partner can be insensitive and really unaware of the other’s heart, needs and desires, and not fully appreciate their love.
Are We Too Busy to Hear?
It’s easy to get busy and be passing each other as two ships in the night, not conscious of the presence of the other. That is often us as born-again Christians. Jesus is always trying to draw us to Himself, to communicate, to express His love and show us the way. But we often are too busy doing our own thing or working on projects for Him that He never asked for that we think he would like.
He wants in on our plans, projects, hopes and dreams. But we, in effect, hold him at a distance. In our pride, we try to bear fruit for him by ourselves, in our own strength.
