A Devotional to Remind You That You Are Worthy of Love

Jesus is our ultimate bridegroom. Because of Him we are made worthy of God’s unconditional love.

I had a death grip on my father’s arm, so I wouldn’t trip and land on my face, or even worse, rip my beautiful, expensive wedding dress.

Then, in one breathtaking moment, time stopped. I could hear my heart beating like a 1000 angel wings. I locked eyes with my bridegroom and nothing else mattered.

My groom, he had eyes only for me.

Nothing else mattered in that room.

Not the guests nor the flowers. Nothing. Not even the flower girl and ring bearer chasing each other in the choir rafters at precisely the wrong moment.

Those things would be remembered fondly, but in that moment, the only thing that mattered was the man standing in front of me. The man who was promising to love me forever, through thick and thin, through sickness and health, til death do us part. (If only he had known what that meant :))

That fateful day was just over ten years ago.

Now I would be a liar if I told you that our road of marriage has been all smooth and full of fairy tale endings.

We have definitely had our ups and downs. Whether we were wrestling with how to spend our money, what day care to ship our kids to, or which cookie was the healthiest choice (oatmeal of course!), we have seen our shares of struggles and fights.

But the one thing that has never faltered is that I know my husband loves and adores me.

The Most Beautiful Bride:

On my wedding day, I was dressed like a princess awaiting her sweet prince. My hair was adorned with a glittering tiara, and my dress and ring sparkled like a thousand stars on a clear evening sky. I was enveloped by beauty and adoration.

I felt like Cinderella at the end of her fairytale. A dream come true.

And I understood a fraction more of why God chose a bridegroom and bride as an analogy…

Jesus as Our Bridegroom:

Even though I had read the stories in the Bible about Jesus as our bridegroom, I never fully grasped the concept until reading Nancy Guthrie’s book, Even Better Then Eden.

Even then I did not fully embrace the concept until the discussion with my women’s small group.

“No human marriage, no matter how good, can bear the weight of our expectations of complete satisfaction and perfect harmony and intimacy that only this ultimate and eternal marriage can provide….But our less-than-perfect marriages or our longings to be married can serve to whet our appetite for this perfect marriage to come. Whether we’re married or single, divorced or widowed, our lives are meant to be spent nurturing our longing for this better marriage. And someday that longing will be fulfilled. Don’t stuff down those desires to be loved in this way; direct your desires toward the only one who can love you this way forever.

Nancy Guthrie, Even Better Than Eden, Chapter 5

During our discussion of this very chapter, I felt like the blind who could finally see. It was I who was Jesus’s bride, and I was walking down the aisle to a an expectant, eyes only for me bridegroom!

I was united in marriage with a groom who I can never fairly compare to my earthly prince.

Jesus is the ultimate bridegroom without whom I could never be considered worthy of God’s love.

This was a marriage where a promise would never be broken, I would never be abandoned, and I would always know I was loved,

No matter what I had done or could ever do.

You see, unlike our earthly marriages, where we are constantly reminded how selfish we are, our unity with God truly shows us just how this unconditional love should be. That no matter what we do, if we keep coming back to Jesus, he will always be there with his arms wide open.

The story of Hosea illustrates this beautifully as well. In the story, Hosea keeps pursuing his bride, no matter what she had done. That’s what Jesus does for us. (For a beautiful fiction illustration of Hosea, you need to read Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers)

There is absolutely nothing we can do to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

Romans 8:38 NLT

And I am so not worthy.

Every day I fail. I yell at my kids, I ignore my husband, and I neglect my dog.

But God’s mercies are never ending.

During our book discussion, one of the ladies in my group remarked how it was so hard for her to imagine that God would consider her as beautiful as a bride.

After hearing this statement, my eyes and heart filled with an ocean of sadness and anger.

But my friend is not alone in her thinking. In a world filled with social media likes, plastic surgery, and celebrities celebrated, isn’t that just how so many of us feel?

The Good News:

If that it is you, then I have good news for you.

That is not how God intended.

We will never be worthy of God’s love.

But, and it’s a big BUT, by God’s redeeming love, he likens you to a bride.

He likens you to the most beautiful woman in the world. And he wants you to know he adores you.

Because of Jesus, you are worthy of love. The perfect bridegroom is waiting at the end of the aisle for you.

His eyes light up a thousand moons and a smile reaches for miles across his face, for you.

So Go Forth With Confidence:

If God believes you are worthy, then how much more can we boast in the power of God with full confidence and boldness?

For you are beautiful and wonderfully made.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalms 139: 14

Never let anyone tell you otherwise.

If you need a little encouragement, consider the following verses and song below to meditate on when you are feeling less then worthy:

You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.

Song of Solomon 6:4

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

Revelation 21:2 NLT

Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City” or “The Desolate Land.” Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight” and “The Bride of God,” for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his bride.

Isaiah 62:4 NLT

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**Post originally published February 26th, 2020. Revised Oct 11, 2023