The Bride (Part 1)

Bible Reading: Ephesians 5:25-33

“What are you reading, Hannah?” Grace asked one evening not long before her sister’s wedding day.

“My Bible study group is going through the book of Ephesians, and I thought I’d take a break from all this wedding planning and read our lesson for tomorrow,” Hannah replied. “But guess what it’s about?”

“What?” asked Grace.

“It’s about Jesus and the Church. The Bible refers to believers as God’s Church and also as the bride of Christ—and Jesus is referred to as the groom. Someday He’ll come back for His bride,” Hannah explained. “The verses in this chapter say husbands need to love their wives as Christ loves the Church.”

“That’s a lot,” said Grace. “I can tell you and Josh love each other a whole lot too.”

“Yes, we do,” agreed Hannah. She looked thoughtful. “I’ve been working so hard to make sure everything is just right for my wedding to Josh. I wonder if I’ve been as careful in preparing to meet Jesus.”

“I know a lot of what you’ve been doing to get ready for your wedding,” said Grace, “but what are we supposed to do to be ready to meet Jesus?”

“Well, first of all we need to trust Him to save us from sin,” Hannah answered, “and then, the Bible says we should be purifying ourselves.”

“What does that mean?” Grace asked.

“It means we live life in a way that reflects our relationship with Jesus and what He’s done for us,” said Hannah. “After I met Josh and we decided to get married, I had to make changes to the way I do things. The things I do and the decisions I make no longer affect just me, because Josh and I will soon be living our lives together. I’ve even had to learn to love the things he loves—like hiking!”

Grace laughed. “Yeah—you were never much of an outdoor person before you met Josh.”

“No,” said Hannah. “But Josh taught me to love hiking, and Jesus teaches us to love others and resist sin. Just like Josh and I are getting ready to spend our lives together, we need to prepare ourselves to spend eternity with Jesus.” • Brenda Decker

How About You?

Does the way you live your life show others you have a relationship with Jesus? If you know Him as your Savior, He has freed you from sin and given you eternal life! He’s going to return one day to get rid of sin forever and make everything new, and He wants you to prepare for that day now by living a pure life. Let the things you do and the way you treat others reflect the fact that you will spend eternity with Him.

Today’s Key Verse:
1 John 3:3 All who have this hope in [Jesus] purify themselves, just as he is pure. (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Live a pure life