Revelation 21:2 English Standard Version (ESV) And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Focus for a moment on a bride prepared. Some might want to ask why I would place the preparation of Christ’s bride so early in this salvation story. My training neglected this element and because of that I did not receive a sense of purpose. Training without purpose can be tedious.

We are being prepared throughout life and it takes time for the true purpose to sink into our minds. Without a proper sense of purpose these preparations can feel like punishment. I hated those forced marches in the Army. It was not until I was in combat that I appreciated the training that preparation provided.

Hebrews 1:14 English Standard Version (ESV) Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

While we are here it is for us to gather His bride together, our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is our service to prepare others even as we are being prepared ourselves. We can only achieve that if we keep our purpose in mind. While we have not always thought this way, it is a wonderful condition of the mind that it can be changed if it understands purpose for change.

Romans 12:1-2 English Standard Version (ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The renewed mind leads the transformation.

Genesis 24:14 English Standard Version (ESV) Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

In our third listing of love in our bible search we find the love of spouse. How many of us place God first in our search for a proper helpmate. God provided Eve for Adam. When did we decide that we are better suited for match making? It is because our flesh has a hunger and our minds decide what looks good? This is one of the most difficult of all aspects of love of spouse. We think we know what is best.

Mankind has been involved in matchmaking all over the world for various reasons. Kingdoms have made arranged marriages based on the need for peace and forming alliances. Wealthy parents perceive the gene pool of their own social class as a method of ensuring posterity and proper breeding. Poor fathers sell off pretty girls for a price for their own comfort. None of these reasons take into account the one thing that God can provide: knowledge of the future outcome.

Here in Genesis 24:14 it is clear that God can and will show His love for His creation if we will seek His will. Abraham in seeking a wife for his son Isaac would have remembered the mistakes of his past in not waiting on God’s promise. He would seek God’s will for his beloved son.

Now we can see the heart of Father God in His steadfast love for His creation. He has arranged a marriage for His Son Jesus Christ based on a foreknowledge that guarantees a successful and joyous union.