Fully Devoted: New CreationSample

Wedding Invitation

Yesterday we talked about the symbol of God’s covenant with Noah and how the rainbow is like a bow and arrow in the sky, pointing up at God and not down at us. God would take the violence on Himself so that we could experience the flood of His grace and mercy. 

Another symbol that the rainbow highlights is a through line appearing throughout the biblical story. From our vantage point on the ground, rainbows look like a half-circle—that bow in the sky pointing upwards. But what you may not know is that if you were to get in a plane and look down on a rainbow from a “heavenly” perspective, you’d actually see a complete circle. Pretty wild! Not only does the rainbow symbolize the direction God chooses to aim His wrath, it is also the lens through which He chooses to look at the earth. The kind of relationship God wants with us can best be described as a marriage. A relationship defined by commitment, devotion, and self-sacrifice. Not surprisingly, this is one of the primary metaphors the Bible uses to paint a picture of what real union with God is meant to be like. The symbol that we use to signify entering into the marriage covenant is a ring. A perfect circle. God set His rainbow in the sky like a wedding ring for His creation—a symbol of His radical commitment to us and our good. 

And the marriage imagery continues. When God brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt to meet with Him at Mt. Sinai, He renewed His covenant with them and gave them the Law as a vow He intended to fulfill. 

Israel would go on to do her worst while God did His best. She would chase after the gods of the nations. In other words, the bride in this illustration, the people of Israel, would not live up to her marriage vows. She would prostitute herself before the nations of the world. This is why the Bible consistently compares idolatry to adultery. But God remains faithful to the marriage covenant He made.  

The Lord “married” Israel knowing she would not be able to keep every law, every commandment, and every vow. He did it because He knew He could and would be faithful to His bride. This is the picture painted by the prophet Hosea’s life. God asked this man to marry a prostitute—a woman he knew would eventually be unfaithful to him. And that’s exactly what happened. 

Gomer, the former prostitute, abandons her husband and children and returns to her old way of life. Instead of patting Hosea on the back for trying his best and marrying this woman in the first place, God challenges the prophet to pursue his wife and buy back her freedom. Yep, that’s right. God tells Hosea to buy his wife back even after she betrayed him. Though he had been utterly betrayed, Hosea shows radical grace. The story of Hosea and Gomer is a small-scale version of the larger story God has been telling since the beginning. A story that demonstrates over and over again that God’s love runs deeper than sin, His mercy is bigger than our mess-ups, and His grace will not be outdone no matter how many times we miss the mark.

And when Jesus came, He continued the marriage imagery, painting Himself as the bridegroom. In John 13, Jesus initiated a new covenant with His followers, with a new symbol of that covenant. Because in the greatest demonstration of love in all of history, God stepped out of heaven and allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross. While we were still living a life enslaved to our desires, treating the offer of relationship with God as cheap, and covered in the disease of sin—Jesus came for us. Nothing could keep Him away. He pursued us to the point of death, and He made a way for us to change our trajectory. When we were at our worst, Jesus proposed a new marriage. 

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3 NIV

This is ancient marriage language. The families would work out all the details, the couple would promise themselves to each other, and then the groom would leave to build an addition onto his family’s home for him and his new wife to live in together. That’s exactly what Jesus is mapping out in these verses. He came, He paid the price required for us—the high and precious price of His life—and He rose again and is now making things ready for His bride, the Church, to be with Him forever. 

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-32 NIV

Revelation speaks of this moment when we will get to participate in the wedding feast of the Lamb of God. The moment when Jesus returns and brings His bride home. 

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” Revelation 19:7-9 NIV

Throughout the biblical story, previews of future hope are always meant to inspire present faithfulness. The Church, the bride of Christ, is called to “get ready.” How do we get ready? 

1. We stay faithful in the waiting. 

2. And we invite everyone to the wedding. 

Journaling Questions 

• What verse or verses stood out to you the most in today’s reading? Write them in your journal. 
• What does His willingness to make a covenant with people He knew would be unfaithful teach you about God? What does it teach you about people?
• Journal about a time when you were hopeful for something in the future and it helped you get through a difficult situation in the present.

Memory Verse

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5 NIV