Instructions for the Bride

God uses the concept of which I have some understanding to bring to light something about Himself and His love for me. When I begin to get a better grasp of that, I begin to learn through better understanding His love, how better to love. In other words, my understanding of the human concept he used to reveal Himself is deepened through His revelation of Himself.
An example of this, I think, is Jesus as the Bridegroom and the church (of which I am a part), as the bride. Though I, as a man, may be reluctant to think of myself as a bride, I do have some knowledge of her role in a relationship with the groom. Perhaps even, as a man, I have strong, deeply felt ideas of what I expect my bride to be. I therefore have a better understanding of what Christ expects of me as His bride. A woman contemplating this spiritual relationship is helped by her desires of how deeply and purely her ideal groom would love her. She more deeply understands Christ's love for her because he used her ideals to explain it to her.

Now that the human concept of marriage has deepened my understanding of Christ's love for me, that understanding teaches me to apply His example to my own marriage. "Husband's love your wives as Christ loves the Church." A deeper understanding of His love for me, teaches me to love in general more deeply and unselfishly. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments". So when asked what was the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus gave that reply. Does that not mean that the single most important thing for us to learn from scripture is how to love Him, and from learning that, how to love our neighbor? Isn't it fascinating that God uses our love for our neighbor to teach us of His love for us and how to love Him; and He uses His love for us to teach us to love our neighbor. That is why these two commands are presented as the answer to the question as to the single most important command. Not only does one not truly exist without the other, each is required to grow in other. "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness".

©2002 by rod lewis