Betrothed to Christ

“²For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 11:2 (ESV)

I am the husband of one wife, Lori. She is mine and I am hers. Together we are walking this world as one. But, I/we are betrothed to another, CHRIST! Paul, in the above verse indicates that we, as the church are to be wed with Christ. He is our husband to be. What does that mean to me/us?

If the betrothal process, the father gives the daughter over to the would be husband and does so with some guarantees. There is the guarantee of devotion to the husband. There is guarantee of dowry to the husband. There is guarantee of purity to the husband. All of these are expected as part of the marriage process.

Now think of Paul’s betrothal of us as the wife of Christ. Paul has given over the church as devoted to Christ. He has promised over the gifts of the church to Christ and His work. And there is the expected purity of the church to the Christ and Christ alone. Just as the actual wife to husband, these are all expectations and come with a great deal of responsibility.

Devotion is to the one and one only. Giving of all of ourselves to Christ and putting aside all other allegiances for the name of Christ. Gifts are given in the name of Christ to ensure that His work can continue in this world. As much as we may dislike the idea, there are needs for the monetary in the carrying out of spreading the gospel. Purity is expected in that we give ourselves to Christ and are washed clean thanks to His offer of salvation. He gets all of us in our new selves to shape into that which is/will be for Him and Him alone.

There you have it, our betrothal to Christ. We are to be devoted to Him, provide gifts to Him for the work needed in this world, and we are to be pure, washed clean for Him.

As you read further in the passage of 2 Corinthians 11:1-15, we see some of the obstacles that will befall us in this world as we are given to Christ. Where these are there, and we need to read and study them to stay away from them, this morning is about our betrothal to Christ and what we give in the process. I have been chosen to the bride of Christ and I take it seriously. I have to remember that I am to be devoted to Him, I give my gifts to Him, and I have been made pure and should work to remain that way for Him. I have been betrothed to Christ and I am to love Him and Him alone.

What is your view of your relationship to Christ? Are you only on the receiving end? What if you see it as being betrothed and with that comes devotion, gifts, and purity to Him and Him alone?

A Pure Heart is Obedience to the LORD

We are “Called to be Holy”. And that is the title of the passage in 1 Peter I am reading through and studying this morning.

“¹⁴As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” – 1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV)

Thinking about it, I am a brother of Christ. And as we are sons of God, we are called to be obedient. I am to be an example of Christ today and therefor am to be obedient to the Father as He is obedient to the father.

I have been saved by the grace of God and the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus who went through it all for me and not for Himself. Thanks to the salvation that I have been given, I have been washed clean and received the chance to start again.

“²²Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,” – 1 Peter 1:22 (ESV)

I have been given that chance to start again and in doing so, I am to be obedient. That obedience is rooted in love for the LORD and keeping Him in my heart where His purity can reside. I am to keep the LORD there in my heart and love with that pure heart.

It is easy to fall into conforming to the world and the outside forces that are running rampant throughout. But we have been given instruction to “not be conformed” to those forces. We are to set aside our own desires and passions and live and love from the inside and our hearts as made pure thanks to the grace of God who resides there.

The Glory of the LORD shines from us as we are exhibiting the Love of Christ. His Glory starts in our heart and emanates from our heart where the LORD resides and has purified. Sharing His love is in obedience to Him and therefor our pure heart is in obedience.

Where is it that you share with the world? Are you an example on the outside only for the world to see? What if you were living according to the Word of God and allowing your obedience to Him shine through you from your heart which is pure thanks to the LORD?

Blessed are…

This is the opening phrase to the beatitudes that Jesus leads with in His Sermon on the Mount. Each of the blessed are those who are the disadvantaged in some way. The blessed are not those who are perceived as the strong and socially seen as having arrived. The blessed are the poor, the mourning, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted for righteousness.

“⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” – Matthew 5:8 (ESV)

In my study of the word “heart” this is the verse that I was led to this morning. He I see the middle of the beatitudes and cast this one over all the others. I am not saying that this is the most important of the beatitudes, I am only saying that when it comes to the LORD, it is about what is in the heart that matters to Him and that is what should be driving the actions of His children. The LORD looks to the heart and, as you can see in the verse above, those “pure in heart…shall see God”. The blessed are those who are in need and who seek God. Whether poor or mourning or hungry or peacemaker, those who are seeking the LORD with their heart are those who are blessed.

Remembering all that glitters is not really gold. What is received in this world may look to be blessings, but we have to remember that the evil one deals in deception and will distort things. And being blessed is not what the world would consider. Look at the blessings bestowed on those who will be blessed, the kingdom of heaven, be comforted, inherit the earth, be satisfied, receive mercy, see God, and be called sons of God. Where the world would likely ask, what good is all that, the children of God see these as ultimate blessings.

For me I look daily at my heart. Where is my heart in relation to where I am and where I am going. I gave an impromptu “speech” at the engagement party of my son recently and where the focus was on their life together that is to come, it was about where we or they are when it comes to the heart that they and everyone else should look to that will mean the most as they travel the path together. I and the rest of society should not be concerned with what they have monetarily that would indicate their blessings, but that which is in there heart for the LORD and each other is what matters.

Blessed are those who have a heart for the LORD.

What is it that you have a heart for? Are you driven by the accumulation of things that you consider blessings? What if you focused on your heart for God and the blessings that come from that focus?