Last weekend, we attended a wedding. Actually, my husband handled the sound for the wedding, so we attended both the rehearsal and the event. I couldn’t help but have memories of my own wedding day. As the mothers of the bride and groom were escorted down the aisle by their grandsons, I teared up, remembering my brother walking my grandmother to her place of honor at my wedding. As the bride and her father walked down the aisle, I flashed both backward and forward, remembering my own wedding but imagining my daughter’s (many years in the future).

During the ceremony, I remembered my grandfather’s words to us, not just on that day, but throughout the years.
What do you remember about your wedding day? How much time and planning went into your celebration? Our wedding day had some hiccups (including a flood, a health scare, and a bumped flight), and our marriage isn’t perfect, but my husband and I focus on building our relationship. Communication, connection, and intimacy are foundational to any relationship.

My husband likes to tell the following joke: “Marriage is a three-ring circus. Engagement ring. Wedding ring. Suffer-ing.” This gets him some laughs and a few eye-rolls as well. All joking aside, weddings are a beautiful thing. However, many people spend a small (or large) fortune on one day and do not invest in their marriage. Marriage also gives us a powerful picture of God’s relationship with His people throughout Scripture.

In the Old Testament, God uses marriage to describe His covenant relationship with Israel. He speaks of loving and providing for her, while Israel’s repeated unfaithfulness is described as adultery. Even in judgment, God calls His people to return to Him and promises restoration.

In the New Testament, the marriage imagery continues with Christ and the church. Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5:25), and Revelation looks forward to the wedding of the Lamb, when His bride has made herself ready (Revelation 19:7).

As Christians, we wait for the return of our Bridegroom and the wedding of the Lamb. How do we behave in the waiting? Do we make preparations so that we are ready for the day? Are we faithfully living out the relationship we claim to have with Him? Be committed to studying His Word, a love letter that reminds us who God is and how deeply He loves us. Talk to Him throughout your day, about everything! As we spend time in His Word and in prayer, we grow in our knowledge of Him and learn to live faithfully while we wait.