06-06-2005, 06:57 AM
THE BRAND NEW YOU ----
by Max Lucado
Have you ever noticed the way a groom looks at his bride during the
wedding? I have. Perhaps it's my vantage point. As the minister of the
wedding, I'm positioned next to the groom. By the time we reach the
altar, I've been with him for some time backstage as he tugged his
collar and mopped his brow. But all that changes when she appears. And
the look on his face is my favorite scene in the wedding.
Most miss it. Most miss it because they are looking at her. But when
other eyes are on the bride, I sneak a peek at the groom. If the light
is just so and the angle just right, I can see a tiny reflection in his
eyes. Her reflection. And the sight of her reminds him why he is here.
And such are precisely the feelings of Jesus. Look long enough into the
eyes of our Savior and, there, too, you will see a bride. Dressed in
fine linen. Clothed in pure grace. From the wreath in her hair to the
clouds at her feet, she is royal; she is the princess. She is the
bride. His bride. Walking toward him, she is not yet with him. But he
sees her, he awaits her, he longs for her.
“Who could bear to live without her?†you hear him whisper.
And who is that bride? Who is this beauty who occupies the heart of
Jesus?
You are. You have captured the heart of God. “As a man rejoices over
his new wife, so your God will rejoice over you†(Isa. 62:5).
The challenge is to remember that. To meditate on it. To focus on it.
To allow his love to change the way you look at you.
by Max Lucado
Have you ever noticed the way a groom looks at his bride during the
wedding? I have. Perhaps it's my vantage point. As the minister of the
wedding, I'm positioned next to the groom. By the time we reach the
altar, I've been with him for some time backstage as he tugged his
collar and mopped his brow. But all that changes when she appears. And
the look on his face is my favorite scene in the wedding.
Most miss it. Most miss it because they are looking at her. But when
other eyes are on the bride, I sneak a peek at the groom. If the light
is just so and the angle just right, I can see a tiny reflection in his
eyes. Her reflection. And the sight of her reminds him why he is here.
And such are precisely the feelings of Jesus. Look long enough into the
eyes of our Savior and, there, too, you will see a bride. Dressed in
fine linen. Clothed in pure grace. From the wreath in her hair to the
clouds at her feet, she is royal; she is the princess. She is the
bride. His bride. Walking toward him, she is not yet with him. But he
sees her, he awaits her, he longs for her.
“Who could bear to live without her?†you hear him whisper.
And who is that bride? Who is this beauty who occupies the heart of
Jesus?
You are. You have captured the heart of God. “As a man rejoices over
his new wife, so your God will rejoice over you†(Isa. 62:5).
The challenge is to remember that. To meditate on it. To focus on it.
To allow his love to change the way you look at you.