Captivated: What Does it Look Like to be Captivated by Christ?
CAPTIVATED: What does it look like to be captivated by Christ? As I was pondering this question that the ladies group I go to is focusing on, I asked God to give me a picture of what that looked like and here it is:
A bride! A radiant bride like the one pictured who only has eyes for her husband to be. But why a bride? Well let me paint a picture for you so you can understand and may it inspire you to look unto Jesus with the same breathless captivation that a bride gives her husband to be. A bride normally is in charge of carefully preparing herself but when it comes to salvation we are redeemed by Christ and it is HE who cleanses us from all unrighteousness and clothes us in his spotless raiment of righteous purity and holiness. In other words, he gives us all we need in order to become his radiant bride and all we have to do is show up and accept his offer of lavish love he is just waiting to bestow upon us and then He takes our filthy rags and gives us rich robes of spotless splendour to wear that thru us His glory might be revealed! Think about it. When you look at a bride and you see her glowing expression you know who put it there. Her joy is a reflection of the adoration her husband to be has already given to her and it makes her countenance shine.
The cleared aisle the bride walks down represents life. When we accept Jesus the path He has us take will be narrow and straight yet full of light and beauty as we walk forward out of darkness and into His presence. And just like a bride, we too should look forward to our future without distraction or thought of self. If we keep our eyes on Him all fear melts away and we need not worry about looking down or around for we know the pathway is clear before our feet and we can walk forward with grace and confidence.
The people who come to the wedding are the cloud of witnesses. The people who have come to see and promote the union. When we are focused on looking unto Jesus (our husband to be) our eyes blur out all the things in our peripheral vision like a temporary blinding mechanism so that we can focus where we need to. When this happens we will miss observing many of those witnesses but just because we don't notice the cloud of witnesses doesn't mean they aren't there silently pressing us forward with their quiet support.
And then there is the groom himself. Jesus. The very one who thru His faithful, unfailing, pure, passionate, selfless love has captivated our soul. He stands eagerly waiting and watching as we walk toward Him. His loving presence is so strong it surrounds us and we can feel it drawing us to Him. And when we finally reach the end of life, He will take us by the hand and lead us forward to His Father. Jesus will shamelessly present to Him the bride He has chosen and then God will truly join together for all eternity what no man can ever tear asunder.
So I encourage you ladies out there to be that captivated bride! Just be the beautiful, radiant redeemed bride whose face glows with that peaceful reflective joy of the love of Jesus so that when anyone sees you they see a woman who looks in love at all times. A love that makes people stare and wonder and want to experience that same love. ❤
