Worship Devotional CIX

Feb 12

Originally posted to the Facebook group on 2/12/2022.

An Eternal View Of Marriage

Worship Devotional for 2/13/22

~ Valentine's Day ~

As we sing about waiting on the Lord in faith and hope, we remember and reflect on what it is which we are waiting, believing, and hoping for: the return of our Lord. When Jesus comes back, this world as we know it will end, for the old things will have passed away, and new things will come. Everything will be made new, and we will enter into the eternal life which God has promised to us in Christ, where we will dwell in the light of His glorious presence forever and ever, and where there will be no more pain or death. Revelation 21:1-8 says:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God's dwelling is with humanity, and He will live them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away.
Then the One seated on the throne said, 'Look! I am making everything new.' He also said, 'Write, because these words are faithful and true.' And He said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life. The victor will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars — their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.'"

We are those who have been redeemed, who have put our hope in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. While we remain on the earth in these temporary bodies of flesh, we have the Spirit of God living in us to teach and guide us according to God's word, that we may do His will in this life and receive eternal rewards for the life to come. We know from Titus 2:11-14:

"For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works."

And from Colossians 3:1-4:

"So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."

So it is clear that the things of this world are only temporary. They are merely a shadow and a picture, a hint of what is to come. As we celebrate Valentine's Day, consider that this includes marriage. Our marriages in this life are not eternal, but are only a shadow of what is to come: the wedding of the Lamb as described in Revelation 19:6-8:

"Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying:
Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, has begun to reign! Let us be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure.
For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints."

We also know from Ephesians 5:22-33 how we as believers are to view marriage and how we are to act in our marriages in such a way that reflects the relationship between Christ and the church and gives God glory:

"Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides for it and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, since we are members of His body. 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband."

If we believe God and obey His commands, we will live in such a way that reflects His character and the eternal hope we have in Him, He will be glorified through our lives while we are here on this earth, and we will experience great blessing and joy even in the midst of any and every trial or hardship we go through. Valentine's Day is a time to focus on love and marriage, so what better time to be reminded of the ultimate meaning of marriage, of the One whose love is true and real and faithful and eternal, and of His life-giving instructions to us on the matter and the blessings that come with keeping them? In remembering that there will be a wedding after the things of this world are done away with, we find a reason to rejoice with great hope, an exhortation to live according to this truth for God's eternal glory, and a warning to not be led astray by the lies of the enemy which are deceiving the world around us. May we live for what is true and lasts forever, rather than for what is temporary and fading away. May we be like the ones in Luke 12:35-40 who are found alert and ready at the master's return:

"Be ready for service and have your lamps lit. You must be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. Those slaves the master will find alert when he comes will be blessed. I assure you: He will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come and serve them. If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn, and finds them alert, those slaves will be blessed. But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect."

May the praise and worship, the deepest yearning, and the outpouring of deeds from our hearts be in agreement with what is concluded in Scripture in Revelation 22:12-21:

"'Look! I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me to repay each person according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
'Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
'I, Jesus, have sent My angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright Morning Star.'
Both the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' Anyone who hears should say, 'Come!' And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.
I testify to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, written in this book.
He who testifies about these things says, 'Yes, I am coming quickly.'
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen."

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