Royal Weddings

"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready...Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" Revelation 19:7,9

An estimated 3 billion people watched some portion of the $45,000,000 royal wedding festivities for Great Britain's Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle yesterday. My granddaughters, Julia and Caroline, were just two of the three billion who witnessed the royal event. Four-year old Caroline was particularly enchanted as she rehearsed the event last night at dinner. "They got married; they went outside and kissed on the lips; and rode away in a carriage." I didn't realize the event's full impact on Caroline until later.

After dinner Caroline asked if I would help her write a story on my computer. I said yes and she came and sat in my lap. Caroline began dictating her story and I typed as she talked. 

"Queen Love a Bear and Prince Charm a Bear become wife and husband and will always love each other forever. They rode in a carriage with the horses. And they lived happily ever after. The end."

Caroline's story is much the same as a Disney movie or our culture's narrative: that is, that love conquers all. The prince has found his princess, and they all live happily ever after. British pastor Matthew Hosier writing for his blog Think wrote the following article on Friday 5/18/18 and wisely observed the following:

"Harry & Meghan represent a very modern shape of love though. She previously married, both from broken homes, both with previous romantic entanglements hiding in the background. There is a lot of complexity being brought into this marriage, as is the case for so many marriages. Those of us who are Christians hold that the model for marriage is that between Christ and his church. It is the hope that no matter how complicated or messy our own histories we will be swept up into the bride of Christ as those who are made without stain or wrinkle, or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Our husband has not previously played the field or broken other hearts, but gave himself up for us, wholly and perfectly."

In a sermon on the wedding supper of the Lamb, Charles Spurgeon had this to say:

"...I know that I am speaking to many who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb and I want you, my dear hearers, to enjoy yourselves, for you have a prospect which blesses you even now. If you are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb, the text says that you are blessed and truly blessed you are! “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” If you had an invitation to see the Queen, tomorrow, some of you who are wonderfully loyal would think a great deal of it, and you would be saying to yourselves, “Well, we are going home tonight to a very narrow room in a very poor cottage, but we have something great in prospect tomorrow!” And oh, think of this, you who are poor, you who are pained, you who are very weak, you who are cast down—within a short time your eyes “shall see the King in His beauty and the land that is very far off.” It may be only a few days, or weeks, or months—certainly only a few years at most—and we shall all share the glory that awaits the Church. And the glory of our dear Lord who loved us, and gave Himself for us, will be ours, and ours forever."

The wedding between the Lamb of God and His Bride the Church described in Revelation 19 will truly be a royal wedding. It will have cost much more than $45,000,000 for the wedding was pre-paid when Christ shed his precious blood for us on the cross of calvary. And the invitation list won't be limited to 600 guests. It will include all those who have put their faith and trust in Christ Jesus.

"Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" Revelation 19:9