Why the Royal Wedding Matters

At 4 o'clock this morning, I mozzied on into my living room, and turned on the television to watch the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton - the royal wedding of a couple from a country I've never even been to. Many people have been in an uproar over the royal wedding for months now; some more excited than others, of course. Ask a Englishman why it's exciting, and he'll probably tell you it's a proud moment for their nation, which it is. Ask the rest of the world, however, and you'll receive an almost universal response: "It's a fairy tale come true!"

At that point, many men and the more cynical women roll their eyes, snuggle back into bed and fall back asleep. I tell you the truth, though. What I saw was incredible. Not just because of the sheer scope of the wedding or the extravagant Westminster Abbey, or the beautiful Kate Middleton (grins), but because I believe what I saw there was one of the clearest, most beautiful representations of Christianity there is and can be.

Before the Service
Everyone who supports the Prince is lining up. They're going to his place - the chapel where he will marry his bride. They're so excited. Every passing day leading up to the wedding of the Prince and his bride makes them more and more excited. Then, when the day comes, they are ready and exuberant.

This is how a Christian life should be. As the church is the Bride of Christ, the Prince of Peace, so was Kate Middleton the Bride of the Prince of England. The people could hardly wait for it to begin, and that is how we should feel as a church - sitting at the edge of our seats - proud and smiling, waving flags and cheering - for the arrival of Christ to the Wedding of the Lamb and the Bride.

The Prince and his Bride
Then, after everything is perfect, the Prince takes his place. Everything is perfect down to the last detail for this day. Not a person, not a leaf, not a note of the organ or the clamor of the bells is out of place. Then, the princess is ready - adorned for her groom, and she is called up to meet him at the alter where they will wed.

In the end, the same will happen to the church. When God's timing makes it so, the end will come, and the wedding of the Lamb and His church shall begin. We will be called up to meet him, scripture tells us, and then the ceremony begins.

The Ceremony
There is the Prince and his Bride. Standing at the altar, waiting for it all to begin. Scripture is read. Songs are sung. And logistics take place. Documents are signed. Vows are taken. They are offered a chance to admit to any wrongdoings or mistrusts.

The Bible tells us that when we go meet our King, we will do the same thing. We will give an account of our actions. We will be in the presence of divine royalty and we will see the life we've lived until that point. Having accepted Jesus's proposal (much like a wedding proposal), we're invited and actually in the wedding - what a wonderful thought!

Then, when it's finished, it's declared. They are together - not EVER to be put asunder.

The Kiss
Oh, the kiss. What they all wait for. What people fill the courts of Buckingham Palace waiting to see. The final seal on the marriage. The Prince and his Bride walk out onto the balcony, all smiles, and the Prince leans in... and kisses his Bride. The people cheer and celebrate. They are together now - they are wedded.

When everything is made new again, and we are there because Christ would have US be with Him, Revelation 21 tells us that there will be no more crying, sorrow, pain or death. Joy. Joy will fill out hearts. And with the King at the throne and his Bride beside Him, we will experience this ultimate form of wedded bliss.

Let the Party Begin!
Then, the party begins.

Tonight there is said to be a feast of... well, royal proportions! A three course meal featuring all the royal family eating together, celebrating this union of the Prince and his Bride. The Bible tells us that, too, this will be one of the first things we experience in Heaven - the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.

Then, it's been said, and Prince Harry (William's brother and best friend) will be throwing a very 'knees-up' party that will feature rock 'n' roll and dancing and lights and will be the biggest and most fun dance party Buckingham has ever seen.

We have that ultimate celebration to look forward to as well! Once we are united with the Bridegroom, the party begins. A celebration that will out-do even the most massively conceived party. And we're not just invited to it - we're in it. We are the Bride.

---

Many people may feel that the Royal Wedding is some extravagant fairy tale that could never really happen except in this one instance with Kate Middleton, but the reality is that, if you've accepted Jesus Christ's marriage proposal, you're in for something much more glorious and spectacular than the Royal Wedding we saw this morning. The truth is that nothing can or will compare to it - the Bible, being the word of God, can not even do it justice.

So if you encounter some negative people that don't understand just how important the royal wedding is, remember that it's simply a reflection, like all weddings should be, on what's in store for us, when our King returns to whisk us away in our carriages and we can, like the storybooks say, "Live Happily Ever After."

The End!

Old School Bloggitory Style - Electricity

So, I found this OLD post I did about the awesomeness of God a while back. Might have been the first Christian blog post I ever did. I still think it is pretty awesome. It's at least three or four years old, and I definitely like to think I can write a lot better now, but I thought it's share it with you all. ;)

---------------

'ELECTRICITY'

(circa 2007)

“Shocking. Positively shocking.”

-James Bond, ‘Goldfinger’

Has something ever just completely surprised you? Has something ever just blown your mind, or scared you so badly, it sent tiny electric shivers up your spine? Have you ever been in a situation where you could actually feel the liquid adrenaline rushing through your body when something happened or someone says something?

It’s happened to all of us, I think. When I was in 7th grade, I had a Geography teacher named Doug Johnson. Mr. Johnson was a big guy. I mean, a really big guy. Tall, wide, and he looked like he could rip your head off if he wanted to. Mr. Johnson was not a nice man, either. He was constantly screaming, yelling, beating on desks, stomping around his room, and just making us dread 4th period.

One day, he went too far. He started yelling at this poor girl in class. Really loudly. It was clearly upsetting everyone in the classroom. People were crying, and he continued on his rampage.

I’m a diabetic, you see, and when something gets really stressful, my blood sugar spikes. Well, Mr. Johnson was yelling and screaming and cursing and whatnot, and my blood sugar shot way up. I was in such pain, that I doubled over onto the desk, crying. Mr. Johnson was still busy screaming at the girl in the classroom for not putting her name on her paper or something, One of the students sitting next to me stood up, and started yelling at Mr. Johnson himself.

“Look what’s happening to Matt!” he yelled. Mr. Johnson looked over, and saw me shaking and crying. He walked over, and asked if I was alright and if I wanted to go to the nurse’s office. He put his hand on my should, and I jolted upwards, and yelled ‘DON’T TOUCH ME!’

He backed off, knowing that he had made me go into a diabetic shock. Now, I sounded angry at him, and I was, but the words just came out - I didn’t want this man, who’d put me in so much pain and had been making me miserable for the past year touching me.

I stood up, and two friends of mine came and put their arms around me, and walked with me up to the clinic.

Only those who were in the classroom knew why I had gotten sick. I never told anyone else, for some reason. Not even my parents.

But, anyway, all the happened on a Friday. When Monday rolled around, I was walking down the hallway to one of my classes… and then, turning around the corner, was the towering Mr. Johnson.

That’s precisely when I felt like I was going to faint. I felt the electric currents rushing up my spine; I felt the shivers on my arms, and I felt like I had just eaten a 9-volt battery.

He stared at me, and I stared at him. He smiled like we were good friends or something. The sparks of fear and anger starting shooting through me.

“Hey, Walker,” he said. “How’re you doing?”

I just looked at him. “Fine,” I said, “Better then Friday.”

“That’s good,” he said, walking away.

But, even as I tell that story, the one thing I remember most and most vividly is that feeling I had when I saw him on the following Monday. It was so intense, and just nerve-wrecking.

Like, I said, we’ve all felt it. Maybe not in the midst of fear, but maybe in awe of something.

About a month ago, I went with my Mom, my sisters, and their children down to Savannah, Georgia to spend the week. I love Savannah. It’s so beautiful down there. There’s a particularly amazing building on E Harris St known as the St. John Cathedral. This building is the oldest Catholic church in the Savannah area, and built back when America was being settled.

When we walked in, all of us were speechless. You didn’t have to be Catholic to be blown away by all of this building’s awe and just raw splendor. Again, I felt those electrical shocks radiate up my back and into my neck. I felt my blood rush all around my body - warm and tingly. The sheer size of the building was enough to make your eyes widen, but the architecture, and the paintings, and the organs, and the pews - wow, it was amazing.

But, again, when I tell that story, the one thing I remember most is feeling those butterflies and that electricity when I walked through those huge, heavy wooden oak doors.

What are some times you’ve felt that burst of electricity or that rush of adrenaline? When we feel that, we know what it means - we’ve either really afraid of something, or we are in total awe of something.

Now, here’s a tougher question. How do you feel about God? Do you tremble in fear and in awe when you think about him? Do you have more of an adrenaline when you beat that really tough level on your Xbox game, or when you pray and read the bible? Do you feel more of those butterflies when you see that amazing cute boy or girl in the lunch line, or when you sit down, and just think about God.

Go ahead and do that. Think about God.

…

…

If we were to ever fathom what God looks like or who he really is, we would just die. In Exodus, we see God saying ‘But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"‘#

Wow. Could you ever imagine trying to stare down something so awesome or so terrifying that, simply by looking at it, you just died? Something so huge, so wonderful, so glorious, so immaculate, so amazing, so holy, so awesome that you would just fall over and die? Think about that!

I went with my Church’s youth group to a conference recently called ‘LiveLove,’ and the speaker, Francis Chan, talked about the sheer awe-inspiring look of God himself.

He showed us where, in Revelation, John described the vision the Lord had given him of God the best he could.

Revelation 4:2-8

(2) Instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven with a person seated on the throne.

(3) The person sitting there looked like jasper and carnelian, and there was a rainbow around the throne that looked like an emerald.

(4) Around the throne were 24 other thrones, and on these thrones sat 24 elders wearing white robes and gold victor's crowns on their heads.

(5) Flashes of lightning, noises, and peals of thunder came from the throne. Burning in front of the throne were seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God. (6) In front of the throne was something like a sea of glass as clear as crystal. In the center of the throne and on each side of the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.

(7) The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature was like an ox, the third living creature had a face like a human, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.

(8) Each of the four living creatures had six wings and were full of eyes inside and out. Without stopping day or night they were saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming."

Can you even imagine that!? At all!? I had never read that until Mr. Francis Chan pointed out that verse to us at the conference. It all really make you shiver and shake doesn’t’ it?

The creatures with the billions of eyeballs all over it’s body, that looks like a lion, probably roaring and pouncing around - it’s it just too much to think about? Even still after that, THOSE four creatures, as awesome and freaky as they are, are STILL in awe over the one who is holier, and sits on the throne that lightning, fire, thunder, and just sheer light radiates from. They cry ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming.’ Can you even imagine?

If you’re not getting those intense, spine-chilling tremors yet, maybe this will shock you a bit. That intense, holy, glowing being on the grandest throne of all; as huge and glorious as he is, loves you.

He loves you as his child. He loves you and wants to know you. Can you even imagine? At all? The One who spoke the Universe into existence with his wisdom and power, loves you. So much so, he sent his only son to suffer the worst death imaginable to die in our place. His own son. The cross. The blood. The crowds shouting ‘CRUCIFY HIM!!!’ The pain. The suffering. The death. Then, finally, his resurrection.

If that doesn’t give you the electric shivers all throughout your body, then nothing will. The one in Revelation, the one that shines like priceless gemstones, that sits upon a throne of thunder and lightning, with pillars of fire surrounding him, the one that if we to so much as glance into his face as mortal human beings, we’d die… that very one loves you enough to get off of his throne, come down to the Earth he created, suffered, bled, faced intense humiliation, and died for you. For you. For you. Get that concept - ‘For you.’ Personally. For you.

Why do you deserve it at all? Why do I deserve it at all? There is absolutely no reason why he should ever love us at all. He built this beautiful planet for us, and we break the rules he’s given us, blaspheme his name, and completely disregard him sometimes. But the cool, awesome, super, magnificent thing is HE DOES! He LOVE US. I’m actually crying as I type this, because I finally understand! I finally get what I thought I understood for years, but now, I finally get it! There is no greater feeling ever. None at all.

I hope you think about that the next time you pray or tell others about God. Think about who he is, what he’s done, and how humbly he did it all… for you.

I’m going the say ‘The End’ right here, and I hope you enjoyed reading this spur-of-the-moment four-page thing I felt I had to get down on paper somehow. First, though, I want to tell you to go read Romans 8:12-18 for yourself to see an awesome example of how much he loves you.

Prepare for the electricity.

--------

I love the random James Bond quote at the beginning that just barely alludes to the rest of the post, haha. Although I've grown a LOT in my faith, I still believe that a lot of what I wrote there still rings true. I wish I had gone on more about God's love for us in the here and now, but I think that that speaks for itself.

Hope you enjoyed a little blast from the past!

-Matt