The Church, the Bride

This morning I felt led to read from Hosea 2:14-23 NIV:

[14]. “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. [15] There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. [16] “In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master. ’ [17] I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. [18] In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. [19] I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. [20] I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord. [21] “In that day I will respond,” declares the Lord---“I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; [22] and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. [23] I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one. ’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people, ’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God. ’ ”

I love the book of Hosea because of the marriage language and imagery that is used to describe the relationship between God and the chosen people Israel. This language and God's heart, as it is expressed here, gives us a glimpse of what He is talking about when He calls the Church the Bride of Christ.

In these verses the Lord talks of protection and provision, commitment, love, compassion, faithfulness and action towards His betrothed. There is new identity and relationship opened up before them and available to them. All this is available to them (Israel) through their choice of obedience and returned relationship.

Its important for us to remember that the Church is the Bride of Christ, and ultimately we exist to be in relationship with Him. We are not called to the Church for some organizational purpose, ministerial purpose or to gain an identity, although those are all good. We are called to the Church to be in relationship with the Lord! We are called into a loving, faithful, protecting, compassionate, active sort of relationship with our God.

This is not meant to be some marriage from afar, where we gave at a distance at the object of our affection. Its not meant to be some sort of legal relationship that has no passion. Rather, the Lord desires our relationship to be founded in intimacy, in constant communication and in active demonstrations of love. It is meant to be a two-way relationship, like all marriages.

Lord, Thank You for Your words that help us to grasp ideas, and more importantly that help us to draw closer to You in relationship.