Whether we like it or not, when we became betrothed to Jesus and committed to become His bride we entered into the battle for spiritual maturity. That’s what our walking out our salvation is all about. Like the Jewish bride in her betrothal we are also sewing our wedding dress as we work through our sanctification. We were sanctified in God’s eyes the moment we gave our heart to Jesus but it takes our living that sanctified life to find out what it means.

We have our inward righteousness because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, but there is a battle to fight to achieve our outward righteousness, and it continues for entire time here on earth. But we’re not in it alone. During our ketubah—our betrothal—Jesus has given us an open door to our garden and bids us to boldly enter in at any time to sit with Him and develop a deeper and richer relationship. It’s in that Holiest Place with Him that He draws us even closer and works off all the rough edges that are keeping us from becoming all He created us to be.

Time is growing short and the moment of His return is on the horizon. All we need to do is look at what is going on in the world around us and compare it with the Word of God. When is He coming? I don’t know and the Word tells me not to try and figure it out. All I know is that we are closer today than we were yesterday, and it’s critically important for the bride of Christ to rise up from her slumber, leave the milk behind and move onto the strong meat of the Word.

Heb 5:12-14 You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others, but instead you have dropped back to the place where you need someone to teach you all over again the very first principles in God’s Word. You are like babies who can drink only milk, not old enough for solid food. And when a person is still living on milk it shows he isn’t very far along in the Christian life, and doesn’t know much about the difference between right and wrong. He is still a baby Christian! You will never be able to eat solid spiritual food and understand the deeper things of God’s Word until you become better Christians and learn right from wrong by practicing doing right. (TLB)

Our bridegroom is calling us to rise up, draw near to Him and follow Him up the path to spiritual maturity. There is a whole new victorious life here on earth for us if we will but heed His call and submit to the leading of His Spirit. The Spirit-filled life is not only one of peace, love, strength and empowerment; it’s the most exciting life we could ever lead.

Do you want the answers to: “Why am I here,” “There’s got to be more to life than this” and “What am I supposed to be doing with my life” answered? Then the first step is to “fully” understand whose you are, who you belong to and then find out how He views you, what you mean to Him and have your eyes opened up to who truly He is. If you’re a true believer—the bride of Christ—then you’ve made a commitment to your bridegroom and, like the Jewish bride, you need to be about making yourself ready for His return. The time is short and there is a hurting world that needs the message of hope and salvation that we hold in our heart. The bride needs to wake up and take her role in the kingdom seriously… there is a kingdom to be ushered in and there are lives hanging in the balance.