The Groom's Face

At this stage of my life I attend a lot of weddings.  I've been a groomsman, usher, best man, groom and just an attender in the last few years.  I enjoy weddings, I especially enjoy them because of the symbolism they give us about Christ and His love for us.

At weddings I enjoy many things including the party at the reception, but my favorite moment in the wedding service itself is the groom's face.

I think you can see so much love in the eyes and face of the groom.  While the bride's eyes aren't easy to see as she walks down the aisle, the groom's are on full display.  I love the groom's face as his beautiful bride is walking down the aisle.  For many men this is the most tender they've been in public or will be until they show off their first child.

Here's a picture of me as my gorgeous bride slowly walked down the aisle.

I remember the flood of expectation that overwhelmed me at that moment.  I was overcome with love for my soon-to-be-wife at that moment.

This weekend at a wedding I watched the groom's face.  I saw the love in young David Dahl's face as he stared at his bride and the rest of the assembly no doubt faded from his consciousness.  While he had no desire to look at us, those of us watching his face could sense the love and devotion he was feeling.

So often in the Bible we are given the illustration of Christ as the groom and the Church as the bride.  Saturday at the wedding I wondered if Jesus looks at us the same way I looked at my bride and young David looked at his.  I think He must, except I know His love is far greater and purer and more faithful than mine can ever be.

With that illustration in mind I thought about this passage:

"The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make His face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn His face toward you
and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26

The thought of God's face shining on us with more love than we could imagine is incredible.  That is a great thought and one I encourage you to think about today.