S97P1 – The faithful bride: awaits the day eagerly
Jer. 2:31-32
You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord: “Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to you no more’? Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.”
He started his Christian walk on fire for the Lord. He was bold and vocal about his faith and his God wherever he went. It was as if someone had flipped a switch, and this man of the world became a completely different creature. No longer was he obsessed with the temporary trappings of a godless society. He lived and breathed to serve God and serve others, but this fire would be brief. The day he learned that Christ would return for his Church was a great day of revelation for him, but the years and decades of waiting for that day to come took their toll on that strong faith. God’s promises were no different, no less true, but they now seemed to be more of a memory than a future reality.
We read through the Old Testament, and we see God’s people waiting for their Messiah from generation to generation. We might point our fingers and call them out for their unfaithfulness, but time can do strange things to anyone’s faith. Messiah did come, and He did bring salvation. Now we watch for his return, and the same trap awaits us. We might find it easy to be on fire for God and be eager about the return of Christ in the midst of a powerful and moving time of worship. We might find it more difficult to keep that going when day-to-day life becomes mundane and repetitious. We grow tired, we grow weak, we experience pain, and we can forget that we are still waiting on the Lord. For the Church to be a faithful bride, she must anticipate the return of her groom as if it could happen right now.
When our fire for the Lord starts to dwindle, and we stop looking forward to that day, our attention and our passions can fall victim to distraction. We might want to think that boredom and lack of interest never could infiltrate our world of faith, but the temptation always lurks. Our faithfulness in giving the Lord the attention He demands and deserves does not come passively. This is intentional work for us to carry out individually and corporately. Straying from God just the slightest degree is often not an obvious change. We must be careful to avoid the slow fade. We can do that by being purposeful in our waiting on the Lord daily. Father, help the Church remain faithful in awaiting the arrival of her groom and their wedding day as if it could come to pass any moment now.