Joy Completed

"The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him and is full of joy when he hears the bridegrooms voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. he must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:29-30).

This is John the Baptist speaking with words denoting his attitude towards his mission and work for God. Christians are the Bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem. "But you (Christians) have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church (Gr. ekklesia: the called out ones, us) of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven" (Hebrews 12:22). "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" (Revelation 19:7).  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem (that is us who are Christians) coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband" (Revelation 21:2). We are not just waiting, we have work to do, for the bride is made up of all who accept the bridegroom, Jesus. "The Spirit and the bride (Christians) say 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the FREE gift of the waster of life" (Revelation 22:17; emphasis mine).

The friend attending the bridegroom has been John the Baptist and he is full of joy. We so often confuse "joy" with "happy" and we must not for "joy" (Gr. Chara= deep calm delight, a true joyfulness) and now that Jesus has come, the Messiah is here, John is ready to end his mission and with joy relinquishes his position to allow Jesus to become greater. We, also, must become less and Jesus become greater by our relinquishing our total self to Jesus, the Bridegroom. Our responsibility is to the Bridegroom.

Often heard is: "but I must....do this or that....if I don't then...." for we believe that it is our necessity to a soul and that necessity is out of God's order. When we see that a soul is in sight of the claims of Jesus, then you know that your influence has been in the right direction, and instead of putting our hand out to prevent the anguish and disorder, pray that they grow ten times stronger until there is no power on earth or in hell that can hold that soul away from Jesus Christ. We must not allow ourselves to become "little gods" for then we prevent God, we put sympathy in the way.  We rejoice with a soul in the right thing, not the wrong thing, we put our Bridegroom first with great joy and call out to others to join with us as brides.

With us they too, all who respond to the call of the Spirit of God, these words: "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men; and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:3-4).  His ascension into heaven guarantees these promises.

Our Joy Is Complete: I must go and tell others this Good News!

Daily Prayer:

How do we thank you Father? Jesus my bridegroom I know that you are coming to Your bride. I thank you that you have enabled me to become a part of Your Bride. All I have, my dowry, is my obedience to Your Law, principles, and that I give to You. Make Your Light shine through me and reach into the darkness of others.                                                                                       Amen