Longing to be Chosen
"Will you marry me?" These are the words a single woman who desires to be married dreams of hearing one day. Then after hearing those words, she might look forward to hearing, "I do," as she stands at the altar, hand-in-hand with the man who chose her for his wife. These two phrases are simple, yet they carry extreme weight to the heart of a single woman waiting for her groom. When I consider these phrases, I can't help but think about how Jesus chose us as his bride.
In John 15:16, Jesus says, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."
Jesus chose us and said, "I do," at an altar where he stood alone. He married a bride that had not yet chosen him, but the Father promised she would come. This beautiful picture of our relationship with Jesus is like a man picking his bride; it is the ultimate romance. Jesus doesn't just say he loves us; he shows us. While praying in the garden of Gethsemane, he cried out, “Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Jesus saw our lives transformed by his love and chose to be obedient to the cross, and he continues to demonstrate his love by manifesting his promises in our lives.
I think about this when thoughts of condemnation try to remind me of who I was and what I deserved before the cross. We all fall short of God’s glory, and no one is worthy of his grace, yet still, he chose us. In Romans 5:6-8, Paul says, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man, someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
I thank the Father for the privilege of being chosen as the bride of his Wonderful Son. A man who is entirely God, yet fully man and full of compassion for us. As the bride of Christ, Jesus has upgraded our lives and status, we are now royalty, and we now have righteousness, healing, holiness, peace, and joy, to name a few of our family blessings.
Suppose we are not experiencing the benefits of being chosen as the bride of Christ. In that case, I pray the Holy Spirit reveals what God has freely given us in his Son. I pray our hearts are satisfied with his love and that we find our delight in knowing we didn't choose him, but he chose us.