Waiting for the Wedding – November 15, 2023

“The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ . . . “The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. . . Therefore keep watch because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Matthew 25:5,6,10,13

Waiting for the Wedding

Waiting for the wedding day can be difficult for the bride and groom, the parents, friends, and other family because everyone can’t wait for the joy of that day.

The same is true for us as we wait for the day of Jesus return. We know what Jesus will provide for us on that day will be better than anything this world has to offer. We also know not waiting for Christ in faith will leave us locked out of the wedding banquet of heaven. Knowing this, it can be difficult to live in a world that is not perfect, a world in which there is so much suffering and sin.

But our Bridegroom, Christ, has seen to it that as we wait for his arrival, we will have all we need so that we’re ready when the cry rings out, “Here’s the Bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” He invites you to remember your baptism, which made you his bride. And your Bridegroom invites you to come to a wedding rehearsal meal called the Lord’s Supper, where you get to taste and see just how wonderful that final, eternal wedding supper of the Lamb will be!

Friends, it may still be a long night before the cry rings out that our Bridegroom has arrived or that he has come for you personally in your death. You may still have to struggle through many hardships and dark moments. But you can keep watch. By God’s grace, you have the oil of the gospel. Your faith’s lamp is lit and keeps burning through that gospel. Ours now is but to wait for the wedding. What a glorious day it will be!

Prayer:
Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.