The Word of God tells of the greatest love story of all time.

It is of story of the marriage between Jesus, God in flesh, and His Bride, the Church. The commitment to follow Jesus is that one equated to making marriage vows to your husband or wife. This life commitment begins with understanding this one scripture:

"We love Him because He first loved us." 
1 John 4:19

It all starts with understanding God’s love for us.

He loved us first.

Pursued us personally.

He loved us before we even knew Him.

Chose us while we where still so far from Him in our hearts.

And His sacrificial love covered all of our sins.

In the beginning, man had fallen and became corrupted by sin. What God created in His image became distorted, perverted, and lost. Disconnected from the very source of all love, life, beauty, goodness, and truth. We, being created for eternal relationship with God were made to know death – not just physical but also spiritual. Through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, the price was paid and we are redeemed, bought back and made in right standing with God. The Cross, the sacrifice, the willingness to lay it all down. The very heart of Jesus to give all of who He is for us – now, this is true love.

It’s one thing to know this conceptually. It’s another to receive this into your heart and know it is true in every fiber of your being. To fully accept and receive His bountiful, unfailing love for us. It’s His love for us that gives us the ability to love Him, to truly love others, to obey His commandments and therefore receive of all His blessings and promises.

God’s heart for us is to be wholeheartedly dependent on Him. Trusting in Him in all areas of our lives, submitted to Him as a wife submits to her husband. He is our covering, our protector and provider. The greatest, deepest most wonderful love of our life. As we get to know our Bridegroom, we realize this is no normal love story. This is extraordinary love. Heavenly. Not of this world. Weighty. Pricey. Deeply intimate. God paid the ultimate price to purchase His bride, and this was accomplished through the finished work of the cross.

Have you ever been loved by someone so much you knew they would be willing to give it all for you? To lay their own precious life down for you? To die a terribly painful death so that you could live? Yeah well, Jesus did that. For you, for me. Wow.

I suppose I’ve always been a romantic, a bit idealistic, believing these types of love stories existed. But now that I am living in it, it is too good not to share. (At times, I’ve almost found it honestly hard to believe that God could be THIS good!) God’s love is like nothing I’ve ever known before but deep inside always had a glimmer of hope that it existed. He fills all the void (is our All in All – Collisions 3:11). He tends to the broken parts (He heals the brokenhearted – Psalm 147:3). He gently nudges me in the right way when my flesh, wounds or trauma rear their heads and influence me to go in the wrong direction (The Lord is my light and my salvation – Psalm 27:1).

If we, individually, wholeheartedly surrender, submit, and commit to this love story, could all the blessings and promises in the Word of God become true for us? I can confidently say, yes.

"For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are “Yes.” 
So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God." 
2 Corinthians 1:20

I’ve heard “marriage is hard”, and I believe it because I’ve gotten a taste of it in my relationship with Jesus. It is not easy to trust when I’ve been hurt, abandoned, neglected and ignored. To learn to receive love in a greater and deeper capacity is actually challenging when I’ve been so used to little droplets of love. This fallen world has been hard on all of us to differing degrees but God’s love restores, cleans us up and makes us new. Meanwhile God has a river overflowing with blessings awaiting our willingness to accept and receive by faith– and God is so patient. Tending to the broken parts, proving to me He will never leave or forsake me.

Some of God’s promises of restoration:

"To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:3

"He restores my soul;" 
Psalm 23:3

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: 
The old has gone, the new is here!" 
2 Corinthians 5:17

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, 
“Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool." 
Isaiah 1:18

I’ve not been married yet but I can imagine that once that right person is brought into my life, there will certainly be a time period of adjusting. Adjusting to being married, being one flesh with another human being made is God’s image. With true love there is grace: grace to not have it all figured out. That’s exactly what Jesus has proven to me. His love never fails. No matter how far I fall short. No matter how many times I fumble, or miss the mark, His love is greater.

Love is patient, love is kind. 
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, 
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 
Love never fails. 
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

May you have eyes for Jesus and Him alone. Not looking to the left or the right, but being filled to the full with His love for you. Walking by faith and not by sight into all that He has planned for your life. Believing that He has only good will toward you. That all of His promises are true and He is faithful. May you trust Him to lead you and always remember that God is for you. Amen.