You Have Captured God’s Heart (taken from Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado)
As a man rejoices over his new wife, so your God will rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:5
Have you ever noticed the way a groom looks at his bride during the wedding? I have. Perhaps it’s my vantage point. As the minister of the wedding, I’m positioned next to the groom…
If the light is just so and the angle just right, I can see a tiny reflection in his eyes. Her reflection. And the sight of her reminds him why he is there. His jaw relaxes and his forced smile softens. He forgets he is wearing a tux. He forgets his sweat-soaked shirt.
…. When he sees her, any thought of escape becomes a joke again. For it’s written all over his face, “Who could bear to live without this bride?”
And such are precisely the feelings of Jesus. Look long enough into the eyes of our Savior and, there, too, you will see a bride. Dressed in fine linen. Clothed in pure grace… She is the bride… walking towards him…
And who is this bride for whom Jesus longs?... You are. You have captured the heart of God.
My Personal Reflection:
I recently attended a wedding of a family friend and truly one of the highlights is the walk of the bride. Everyone ooohed and aaahed as the beautiful bride came towards the altar. As the bride walked past where I was, I noticed the groom and saw that no one else gazed at the bride more intently than him. No one else beamed more radiantly at the sight of her walking towards him. His eyes were so fixed on her that nothing else mattered, but her.
It sounds unimaginable to picture Jesus looking at me the same way. Maybe because I feel I am not pretty enough to be stared at, or maybe, I am worried that he might see something that he wouldn’t like as he gazes at me. If only I can see myself through His eyes, then maybe I can see what he is seeing. Maybe I can see what is causing him to stare. Maybe I will know why he longs for me so much to cross heaven and earth just to be with me.
And the way to do that is to gaze back. To look at his eyes more closely. To move to him near enough to see my reflection in his eyes. As I look, hopefully I will get to relax and forget all other things. Nothing else will matter, but him. As I have captured His heart, so would he have captured mine. - MKG