Do you love her?

She's not perfect...although the expecation is there.  She smells of imperfection...and grace.  She doesn't always know the direction she's headed, and usually thinks she knows better than she does...luckily her groom holds her hand and gently places his other hand on the small of her back as he guides her...
Starting to sound familiar...it should, it's you...or at least you are part of her (if you're a child of the King)...The Bride that is...

This morning at church our pastor gave a much needed call to order...before he started pluggin small groups and community building opportunities, he realised something...realised that if  don't LOVE the church (meaning Corporate Gatherings) you're not going to LOVE smaller versions of it anymore.  Eventually they will become tainted too...and you'll realise that we are all flawed. 

But more than that, he drove home the point that God LOVES the church...Big "C" small "c"  the argument is old in my opinion, trust me...I've banked on that several times...but reading scripture, and admitting that what Paul talks about is the Local Church...that is what God loves...enough to arrange a marriage between it and His only Son.  He loves the church, you can't get away from that...and with a statement I've heard so many times before, it rang personally to me.

I cannot love the Groom apart from His Bride...I can't, and He won't have it.  Flawed, ugly at times and useless...He loves Her, and so Should I. If "one another" is used 59 times in the NT to instruct us how to do life...apparently I don't have all the answers, nor am I designed to go at this alone.

So, I ask you, do you love her?  Or are you trying to love the Groom apart from His Bride?

Just Curious