[This post is an Introduction to the book of EPHESIANS/ By:Max Lucado]

-The book of
-EPHESIANS --(Introducation)

-I just witnessed a beautiful wedding. The most beautiful I've ever seen. That says a lot since I've seen a lot. Ministers see many weddings. It's a perk of the profession. ~~~~
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Is there anything more elegant than a wedding? Candles bathe a chapel in gold. Families fill the pews in love. Groomsmen and bridesmaids descend the aisles with bouquets of newness and rings of promise. What an occasion!

And nothing quite compares with that moment when the bride stands at the top of the aisle. Arm entwined with her father's, she takes those final steps with him and steps toward a new life with 'him'.

Ahhh, the glory of a wedding. So to say I just saw the most beautiful one is no small thing. What made these nuptials so unforgettable? The groom. Usually the groom is not the star of the wedding. The fellow is typically upstaged by the girl. But this wedding was made special by the groom.

It was enhanced by something he did.
And who he was made what he did even more startling. You see, he's a cowboy; a stocky fellow who went to college on a rodeo scholarship. But what stood by me was not a macho calf roper, but a pinch-me-I'm-dreaming boy who'd never seen a bride so gorgeous.

He was composed as he walked down the aisle. He was fine as he took his place at the altar.
But when he saw the bride, he wept.
It was the moment he'd dreamed of. It was as if he'd been given life's greatest gift--a bride in all her beauty. By the way, those are the very words Paul uses to describe the church: a bride in all her beauty.

Jesus died for the church so "that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (5:7).

Ponder that verse. Jesus died for 'a bride'. He died so He could be married. This passage anticipates the day when the groom will see His bride--when Christ will receive His church. Jesus' fondest longing will be fulfilled, His bride will arrive.

The letter to the Ephesians celebrates the beauty of the church--the Bride of Christ. From our perspective, the church isn't so pretty. We see the backbiting, the squabbling, the division. Heaven sees that, as well. But heaven sees more. Heaven sees the church as cleansed and made holy by Christ.

Heaven sees the church ascending to heaven. Heaven sees the Bride wearing the spotless gown of Jesus Christ.
It's enough to make one weep. ~~~
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