When we were children, we grew up hearing fairy tales with the princess or damsel getting rescued by her hero, who was often depicted riding on a white horse. The knight who fought to impress his lady came charging on a white horse.
Guys—fairy tales aside, do you know that your wife really and truly does want to be rescued? She needs you to be her hero, to fight for her, to defend her, and to show her how much you cherish her.
Ladies—do you know that your husband wants to be assured that he is your hero? This world can really beat him up, tell him he is average, knock him off that charger. But, with your attitude and your words, you can put him right back up there and provide the respect your hero needs.
God gave us the gift of marriage, and one of the reasons he gave us such a precious gift is so that we can more fully understand his relationship to his followers.
Have you ever noticed in the Bible how often Jesus is referred to as the Bridegroom? And we, the church, the people of God, are his bride. Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 25 about ten virgins waiting for their bridegroom and how important it is for them to be ready when he comes. More than once in the Gospels Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom. In Ephesians 5, Paul compares the relationship between husband and wife to that of Christ and his church. He gives specific instructions for how husbands are to treat their wives and ways wives are to relate to their husbands. Done right, it makes for an extraordinary marriage. Don’t be mediocre! Worse, don’t be bad at it! Read the instructions and ask yourself if you are doing what God calls you, as a marriage partner, to be. And then ask your spouse how you could do a better job (and don’t be defensive if you don’t like what you hear). And then ask the Holy Spirit to help you be that person. In this life we are supposed to be practicing, with our spouses, so that we can be a perfect bride when we meet our Bridegroom. This is his plan for us. How is your practice going?
The most dramatic picture of Christ as the bridegroom is in Revelation 19:7–9, “‘Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.’”
Do you know that Jesus is coming back on a white horse? Revelation 19 reveals that Jesus appears, ready for battle (an easy battle for him), and his name is Faithful and True. Our Hero, King, Conquerer, Rescuer is going to come someday and make things right. He will put an end to all sin and injustice. This is true. How amazing that he creates in us the desire to be the rescued and the rescuer and, in the end, he will rescue us.
At Easter, we celebrate that our Savior went to the horrible cross for us to rescue us from the power of sin. He rose from the grave to rescue us from the power of death. He gave us the Holy Spirit to live inside of us, empowering us to live a life of victory here on earth. And he will return to finally conquer evil, this time not on a colt but on a powerful white horse, as King of kings and Lord of lords. Hallelujah!
