God Yearns For Us

Do you understand that God longs for a personal relationship with you? That He made you for Himself? That His stubborn love will simply not let go of us?

It can be difficult to believe that God yearns for us. He is so holy & we are so unholy. He is so great & we are so small. And God doesn't need anything.So why would He yearn for a relationship with us? But god made us in His image & we yearn for a relationships also, whether it's with our true love, our best pal, or a social group. And in our mind's eye, we see those relationships. God saw us that way too.

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"For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy & blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure & will--"

Ephesians 1:4-5 (NIV) 

God is our pursuer. He is longing for us. He is the Bridegroom longing for His bride. What an amazing thought that our Bridegroom, Jesus, is preparing a place for us, & is looking forward to when He will come & take us home. And what bridegroom wants an indifferent bride?
In biblical times, the Jewish marriage ceremony had 3 different parts:

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  * The betrothal, as in the betrothal of Mary & Joseph. The woman was considered to be the man's bride & even though the marriage hadn't been consummated, the commitment was considered permanent & legally binding.
  **Secondly was the period of separation while the bridegroom prepared for the bride to come & live with him. Then, when the bridegroom's father felt that all was ready, the bridegroom would come for his bride in a great processional. The bride did not know when the bridegroom would come for her. So, she needed to be ready.
  ***Finally, the last part of the ceremony was performed. After a 7 day celebration that included a great feast. The bridegroom finally took his bride home.We are betrothed to Jesus. We are His bride & we are in the period of separation. He is preparing a place for us.

"In my Father's house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go & prepare a place for you, I will come back & take you to be with me."

John 14:2-3 (NIV)

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And when Jesus comes, it will be the absolute grandest processional of all. And He will take us away from this world. Our mind's eye really can't do justice to the place that Jesus is preparing for us. But we know that we will live forever with no tears, no aches & pains, no diseases or afflictions. We'll be reunited with loved ones & there will be harmony & security the peace that passes all understanding. And the best of the best - we will be with Jesus.

As in biblical times, we don't know when our Bridegroom will be coming. Are you ready?