"GLORIFICATION"

 "A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and steams from Lebanon." (S.O.S. 4:15)

  Living on this side of glory, although we cannot attain it in this moment, it is still our goal, our hope, and in Christ, it is our Blessed Assurance! In His eyes, we are already there; in the Father's eyes, we are as much a part of Him, as His Beloved Son. This is not only about what is to come, this is about that which has already been established and was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Now, we just need to have faith and believe it is so, because He says it is so! 

  Matthew Henry places this comment coming from the spouse; as it appears to be something too high or too vast for it to be spoken of the spouse. But, in a most miraculous way, the spouse is being transformed and the single identity of her beauty is being made known in plural; as if she has gone from one to many! As much as it might seem we have this salvation all to ourselves, as if we are accountable for it, we are responsible for making the right choices, and we are living out our own destinies: this is His prize! Sure, we are going to be blown away by all of the majesty and glory, but we are the Bride of Christ; and as His Bride, we will be presented in glorious fashion; the individuality of who we were, what we were, and how we might have somehow made it through, that is pale in the light of the unity we will become. 

  The way I see it, that is really a pretty good thing; as the Bride of Christ, we become part of something that has many different parts, and in the eyes of the Bridegroom, we are more than perfect, we are totally complete! Which is the single most important thing we are waiting for, to be complete! No one knows the day or the hour, not even the Son! As He prepares the house, the Father waits for the Bride to be ready; to be complete. And when that last soul is added, the word will be spoken, "Go get your Bride!" 

  As much as it seems it should have already happen, there are several people in my life which make me happy it has not happened yet. A little like that starfish story, where the man is walking along the beach and finds thousands upon thousands of starfish washed up on the sand; so he starts throwing them into the ocean. Someone walks by, and says, 'Hey Buddy, why bother doing that, there is no way you can save all of those starfish; it's really not going to make a difference?' To which the man replied, as he tossed another into the sea: 'It just made a difference to that one!' 

  Did anyone notice all the water seems endless...

"I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full amount of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, "The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins."" (Romans 11:25-27) NLT