Eternal Companion

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Isaiah 62 through 66 are a message from God about the return of Jesus. It starts out by reminding us who we are to Him. It is so easy to forget how God thinks of us. The accuser, Satan, wants us to think we are barely tolerated by God, that we are "on probation" for our past mistakes. But here, God tells us the truth of who we are: we are the eternal companion of Jesus, God made flesh. He uses the analogy of us being Jesus' bride. At first, this is hard for me to grab onto to as a guy, but God's not using the analogy in the context of romantic love, He is describing a connection much deeper and tangible. He is talking about a relationship where two people legally become one. In the physical realm, He is saying you are a "joint heir" with Jesus. He wants to share His glory, and position of power, and wealth with you. At the heart level, He is saying He delights in you. He cares about your intention to be His. He knows our weak responses to Him are backed by real desire to obey and be near Him. When He sees your desire to be with Him, to know Him, He wants you to know that He feels even more strongly about the relationship than you. He delights in being with you. When you turn your gaze toward Him, He is filled with joy!

I remember the day I saw Samantha walking down the aisle dressed for our wedding. I cried when I saw her. When she looked at me and smiled, I realized at that moment that I was starting a lifelong adventure with someone who really loved me and wanted to be with me. Jesus feels this way about you. This explains why the creator of everything was willing to let Himself be hung on a cross to pay for the restoration of His relationship with us. This explains Good Friday. He's coming back soon for the reception!

Isaiah 62:5...just as a young man commits himself to his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

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