Throughout scripture, marriage is used to demonstrate God’s love and grace for us.
Conference speaker and writer Jessica Thompson points to a few examples found in Hosea and Revelation.
“It’s kind of an amazing thing what He does for us in calling us His spouse and loving us, the church. This whole picture of Hosea, where there’s this unfaithful bride, really a prostitute, that Hosea keeps going after. God kept saying, ‘Bring her back in, bring her back in, bring her back in.’”
“Then we have this picture in Revelation, where Jesus Christ is waiting for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; we’re waiting to be wed to Him forever.”
We all have the opportunity to experience His unconditional grace as His Bride, even though we don’t always give or receive it in the way He intended.
“What changes our marriages is remembering how unworthy we are of that sort of love. God looks at us through Jesus Christ, He doesn’t see this messed up idolatress, looking everywhere else but to God to satisfy this desire for love, He looks at us and sees us hidden in Christ – perfect record. We’re actually dressed now in this beautiful wedding dress – Christ’s righteousness.”
Jessica shares how this truth allows her to be secure in Christ and demonstrate God’s love towards her husband.
“As I am sitting in that and secure in that, then I’m free to love my husband on the days that he doesn’t feel love towards me, or he’s having a hard day at work; I’m free to just give myself to him. Because it’s not about him loving me, I’ve already been loved.”
God meets us on a relational level in every area of our lives.
“God comes and says, ‘Ok, here’s a relationship; you struggling your marriage, I’m going to relate to you as your heavenly spouse. Here’s a relationship; you struggle in your friendships, I’m going to tell you, you’re my friend. Here’s your relationship; you struggle with, your parents or your kids, I’m going to tell you I’m your Father.’”
“He comes to us with all of these different beautiful facets to show us over and over and over again…He’s enough.”
“Relationship with Him is enough and it enables us to give our lives away to those people that we relate with, even when it’s hard.”
Even when we fall short, we are reminded that God’s love and grace for us is unconditional.
“You’re forgiven, you’re loved, you’re welcomed. As we dwell on that, it gives us courage tomorrow to try again.”
