No, Your Other Right.

Five second review: Mankind made in God’s image.  God is love.  Love is submission.  Mankind snubs God, chooses to be god.  Mankind submits to devil.  Devil abusive husband.  Mankind is doomed. 

But Jesus!  (If I can do it that quick, kinda makes you wonder why these things are four pages long, doesn’t it?)

In a wedding, the Bride stands on the left, the Groom on the right.  Why?  Is it a left over from when the man needed to have his right hand free to fight off would be “suitors”?  Was that line about, “If anyone knows of any reason these two should not be married, let him speak now or forever hold his peace,” often followed by a duel or general melee in the sanctuary?  I’ve been in a few weddings which could have done with this brand of livening up, to be sure.  Cool as it sounds though, I’m skeptical.  I think it has a lot more to do with this…

 “30 I will give thanks to Yahweh exceedingly with my mouth,


and in the midst of many I will praise him,

31 for he stands at the right hand of the needy,


to save him from those judging his life.” (Ps 109)

The Garden of Eden was a wooing.  It was a courtship.  It was a romance novel.  Will she choose the safe, loving, devoted hero or the smooth talking, wild, dangerous fellow?  When we chose sin over God given glory, we took the hand of the devil and how he must have laughed as he slapped the cuffs on us and stuck an iron ring in our nose!  Since then he has lorded over us and yet our desire has tragically been for him. 

Unless he can lie to himself Satan knows he is doomed.  He consoles himself with hurting God.  He can’t do it directly so he hurts the ones God loves.  Us.  The ultimate hurt, the ultimate knife in the guts is when he stands before the throne, our chains in his fist and recounts our treason, our adultery, our sin before our Holy Father, Our Righteous Judge, Our Husband scorned.  “This is what they are!  They have taken your image and twisted and cut and butchered it into mine!”

But Jesus breaks the power of sin, “14 Therefore, since the children share in blood and flesh, he also in like manner shared in these same things, in order that through death he could destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and could set free these who through fear of death were subject to slavery throughout all their lives.” (Heb 2)  In the place of our accuser, Jesus becomes our advocate! 

“7 And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 And they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

“Now the salvation and the power


    and the kingdom of our God


    and the authority of his Christ have come,


because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down,


    the one who accuses them before our God day and night.

11 And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb


    and by the word of their testimony,


and they did not love their lives until death.” (Rev 12)

And so much more than an advocate!  He is our King, our Lover, our Husband!  “6 And I heard something like the sound of a great crowd and something like the sound of many waters and something like the sound of powerful thunder, saying,

“Hallelujah!


For the Lord God, the All-Powerful, reigns!

7 Let us rejoice and be glad


    and give him the glory,


because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come,


and his bride has prepared herself.

8 And it has been granted to her that she be dressed in bright, clean fine linen (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints).” (Rev 19)

In the place of the husband of our choosing, who wanted to dehumanize and kill us and drag us into his doom, we are restored to our true Husband who wants us to share in HIS glory.  The one who pursued us even when we had slapped his face, stolen his gifts and run away!  Who bought us with is own blood and body, who gave up everything for us because he loves us!  This is the husband who holds our right hand tenderly, carefully, lovingly now.  This is one we should do anything for!  No request should be too great.  There is no duty, no commandment, for our hearts should be leaping to anticipate what would make him smile!  Look up Hephzibah!  Your Prince has come!  Take his hand!