Preparing for Her Bridegroom

Waiting...patiently vigilant. Calmly expectant. Eyes open. Arms extended...hoping the face appears today. Max Lucado 


She wanted to get married there, but the campus prayer chapel held only thirty-five. It wouldn't work for the wedding, but was perfect for her bridegroom's first-look. Emily's morning was spent in preparation -- hair and make-up, donning her tailored dress which proclaimed purity, and making her way to the chapel to wait for her bridegroom.

Husband and Wife Photos

It reminds me of another bridegroom, another group of virgins -- five prepared, five foolish -- who were unprepared. I sit here wondering, Have I made the proper preparation? Here are five ways to know if you are ready for Jesus, our bridegroom, to come for us.

Husband and Wife Photos

1. Invite Jesus into your life. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

Just as Jonathon declared he'd wait forever if needed for Emily to agree to date him, Jesus is always wooing us. Jonathon waited five years for that first date. Jesus constantly waits for us to make Him our bridegroom.

Husband and Wife Photos

2. Spend time with Jesus.

During their 3 1/2 year romance, Jonathon and Emily stole every chance to be together. They thought about each other when they were apart, and kept their phones hot in between times. So we must read about Jesus in God's Word, talk with Him in prayer, and meditate on Him throughout our day.

Husband and Wife Photos

3. Keep love burning bright.

Emily wrote Jonathon notes and made his favorite peanut butter cookies. He brought her Starbucks and patiently posed for pictures. We keep our love for Jesus alive by putting Him first, serving Him in little ways -- visiting an elderly saint, taking a casserole to a new mother, sending a card to the hurting, or taking a small gift to a friend "just because."

4. Love who He loves.

Emily embraced not only Jonathon's parents, but also his brothers, friends and extended family. We must love those who Jesus loved, regardless of their place in life -- children, broken people, even those prickly humans who might be hard to love.

Husband and Wife Photos

5. Grow in Grace.

RB's example of love towards me helped Jonathon see the importance of respect in marriage. He acknowledged how much he grew just by observing. So we, studying the examples of Jesus, should become more and more like Him. Our attitudes, the words we speak, and the meditations of our heart should continue to change through the fruit of the Spirit (kindness, meekness, love, self-control, etc, Galatians 5:22-23).

I want my eagerness for the Bridegroom’s arrival to rise to the same level as that of my baby Emily’s as she awaited the occasion to join her beloved. Are you preparing?