Жених

What the bride and groom are to each other, so is Christ and the Christian soul. The bride gets engaged to the groom. So the human soul is betrothed to Christ, the Son of God, by faith and is washed in the bath of Baptism. The bride leaves home and parents and cleaves to her groom alone. So the Christian soul, betrothed to Christ, the Son of God, must leave the world and worldly desires and cleave to its one Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, to which the Holy Spirit exhorts it through the prophet: listen, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and be for your people and your father’s house. And the King will desire your beauty (Ps. 44:11-12). The bride dresses in a colorful dress and decorates herself to please her groom. Likewise, the Christian soul must dress in the attire appropriate for it and adorn itself inside in order to please its Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. The robe of the soul is indicated by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle: put on, as God’s elect, holy and beloved, mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering (Col. 3:12). A good bride remains faithful to her groom. Likewise, the Christian soul must be faithful to Jesus Christ until death, as Christ Himself tells it: be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev. 2:10). A good bride loves no one as much or more than her groom. Likewise, the Christian soul should not love anyone equally, and even more so, than Christ, its Bridegroom. The groom does not like the bride when she is equal to him, and especially when she gives great love to another. Likewise, the Christian soul is not pleasing to Christ when something else is equal to Christ, or, worse, loves Him more. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me (Matthew 10:37), says Christ. The nobility, honor and dignity of the bride depends on the groom. Likewise, the honor, nobility and dignity of the Christian soul depends on Christ. The nobler the groom, the nobler the bride betrothed to him. But since there is no one more honest, noble and worthy than Christ, the Son of God, there can be no greater honor and dignity for the Christian soul than to be the betrothed bride of Christ, the Son of God. The honor, nobility and dignity of the bride are not visible until she is united with the groom through marriage. Likewise, the honor and glory of a Christian soul is not visible until it is united by marriage with Jesus Christ in the next century. Beloved, says the apostle, it has not yet been revealed what we will be (1 John 3:2). The glory and dignity of the bride will be revealed when she unites with the groom in her noblest marriage. This is how the great glory of the Christian soul will be revealed when, at His Second Coming, it is united with Him in marriage. Then she will be like her most beautiful Bridegroom. We only know that when it is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). After marriage, the bride is brought to the groom's house with joy. So the Christian soul will be introduced into the house and chamber of its Heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, with joy and gladness (see: Ps. 44:16). The Lord will return them, and they will come to Zion with joy and everlasting joy; for on their head is joy and praise, and joy will take them, sorrow and breath of breath will be removed (Isa. 51:11). After marriage there is feasting and merrymaking. So at this marriage there will be a great supper, joy and gladness. Then they will eat, they will drink, they will rejoice, their hearts will be merry (see: Isa. 65, 13–14). This was revealed to the holy Apostle John: and I heard as it were the voice of a large people, as it were the sound of many waters, as it were the voice of mighty thunderbolts, saying: Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory; For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her to be clothed in fine linen, clean and bright; The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints (Rev. 19:6-8). The groom rejoices over his bride, and the bride over her groom. So Christ, the Heavenly Bridegroom, will rejoice over the souls saved and glorified. And as the groom rejoices over the bride, so the Lord will rejoice over you (Isa. 62:5). And souls will rejoice in their sweet and beautiful Bridegroom forever and ever. Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; for He clothed me with the robe of salvation, He clothed me with the robe of gladness, as He put a crown on me as on a bridegroom, and adorned me with ornaments like a bride (Isa. 61:10). The Lord speaks about this mysterious betrothal and marriage through the prophet: I will betroth you to Me forever, and I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in kindness and mercy, and I will betroth you to Me in fidelity, and you will know the Lord (Hos. 2:19-20). And the apostle says to Christians: I have betrothed you to one husband, in order to present you to Christ as a pure virgin (2 Cor. 11:2). Let us try, beloved Christian, to cleanse ourselves with repentance and adorn our souls with the robe of virtues. May we please our Heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and accept us into His heavenly and eternal chamber.