Experiencing An Arranged Marriage

You find it cringe-worthy that someone lives in an arranged marriage. That is because the thought of waking up next to a stranger does not sit well with you. And who can blame you? Yet, all believers are experiencing an arranged marriage even if they are largely unaware of it.

It is an arrangement that the Father set up and with which the Son agreed. He subsequently came to earth to propose to His bride. In that sense, everybody who ever said “Yes” to Jesus is experiencing an arranged marriage.

The wedding itself is still in the future and that is the very exciting portion of this entire experience. Because it does not matter how much love you feel for Jesus now, it is nothing compared to what is coming. At the marriage supper of the Lamb, joy indescribable will fill the bride’s heart.

In cultures with an arranged marriage system, people claim it is a win-win-win situation. And you readily see how that is possible. I had the opportunity of witnessing a family meeting in New Delhi to arrange a marriage for their children.

The parents were extremely business-like as the negotiations progressed but the young lady was all smiles. Evidently, she enjoyed being saved the heartaches and uncertainty of personally having to find a husband. The man too did not look too unhappy because his parents were helping him to find a good thing. perhaps for the same reason.

Their respective parents were doing all the search and selection. All they had to do was enter in and start experiencing an arranged marriage. Naturally, if you are not from a culture where arranged marriages are the norm, this description might make you gag.

You Now Have A Kingdom Culture

Regardless of your earthly culture, once you adopt Kingdom culture, you will love experiencing an arranged marriage. And that is because everything pertaining to this marriage is pure. According to the bible, the bride for whom Jesus came is holy and without blemish.

She is a bride not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. It should therefore come as no surprise that the bridal preparation is lasting more than two thousand years. After all, preparing Esther for Ahasuerus, an earthly king, lasted twelve months.

So, for our Heavenly King, it will take longer since it involves both an external and internal cleansing. We see a Holy Father who would naturally want His daughter-in-law to be holy even as He is holy. Experiencing an arranged marriage with a holy groom certainly requires holiness.

And you know that holiness does not come easy to us. Our flesh tends to get in the way until, like Paul, we learn to die daily. And although the time required for that mortifying act was telescoped for Paul, for most of us, it takes time.

God is willing to take as much time as He needs until His Son’s bride is ready and holy. While we are getting ourselves spotless for the wedding, what is our King and groom doing? Like any good groom, He is preparing our home, and what a house it is.

He came to earth, made the marriage proposal, and then went back to His father’s home to build us a mansion. The plan is for Him to come back for His bride whenever His Father indicates the Home is ready. I pray we shall be ready.

Experiencing An Arranged Marriage In A Mansion

Cultures, where the parents throw the son out at the age of eighteen, may not understand this concept. But it is not only the Jewish custom that allows the child to build in the father’s compound. In Montego Bay, Jamaica, I witnessed the phenomenon and loved it.

Perhaps they adopt that tack because of the shortage of land usual in Island nations, I am not sure. But as soon as his girl said yes, the young man picked a corner spot in his father’s compound. Before too long, he started building, and in a few weeks, he had his one-bedroom house ready for his bride.

In like manner, Jesus went to His Father’s house and is building us many mansions. These mansions in His Father’s house will not be like that which the young man built in a few weeks. Evidently, since it is taking the King of kings 2000 years to complete, it will not only be big, it will be beautiful.

Let this thought blow your mind. We shall be experiencing an arranged marriage in a Mansion that Jesus is spending centuries building. Now if you live in a Mansion here on earth, you may not see how this is a big deal. That is, until you learn that these mansions are in God’s house.

In that house, there is love, light, peace, security, and joy. We can go on and on but that should suffice to make you hungry to want to be there. It should motivate you to be ready for whenever He comes to collect you for the wedding. We can then start experiencing an arranged marriage like no other.

A different Way of Experiencing An arranged Marriage

But that is not the only way in which our arranged marriage is different from earthly ones. While the regular arranged marriage is usually between two total strangers, our arranged marriage is slightly different. In our own case, we are marrying our friend.

I understand that the best form of marriage is for you to marry your friend. Praise God, we are not strangers to our groom. Don’t you just love God? He causes us to be experiencing an arranged marriage but He ensures that it is with our friend.

A believer can enjoy the best of both worlds. You have no need for online or in-person dating, with all its attendant heartaches. And yet, you end up with Jesus, your friend, and the groom.

You recall that at some point in their interaction, He informed them that they were now His friends. In our case, experiencing an arranged marriage as the bride of Jesus is the same as marrying your friend. Wow!

Maranatha!