John 3:29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.
This verse is John the Baptist’s comment to his disciples after they informed him that more people were being baptized by Jesus and His disciples. Again, we see that Jesus’ cousin knew his role—not only was he preparing the way for Jesus, but he was like the friend of a bridegroom who rejoices that his friend has found a wife and is getting married. Jesus is the bridegroom, and the people the Father gives to Him are His bride. John’s joy at seeing people following Jesus was full.
So should our joy be full as we see people become disciples of Jesus because we have pointed them to Him. Consider this: living to love with Jesus is acting toward their highest good. There could be no higher good for someone than for them to be given to Jesus as His bride. So one of many ways that we love them is to point them to Jesus to see if the Father will give them to Him. We introduce them to each other and watch to see if any spiritual chemistry develops between them. It will be easy to see, just like it was easy for John and His disciples to see. They will follow after Jesus. They will want to learn more from Him. Eventually, they will fall in love with Him and give their lives to Him willingly and joyfully. Our role is to be Jesus’ friend and their friend.
Maybe today we will have the opportunity to introduce someone to Jesus. Just this morning, while at breakfast in our hotel, I told our waitress, Mokgadi, that I had prayed for her earlier (which I had as I prayed the Live to Love prayer), thanking God for those He would put in my path today. I told her that Jesus knows her and I pray that she would know His presence. That’s all there was time for. It didn’t take long to introduce Jesus and Mokgadi to each other, so to speak. This evening, as we said good night to our driver who had been our guide for 3 hours at a game reserve here in South Africa, I simply told him that I wanted to thank God for him and asked if I could pray for him. He welcomed the prayer as I prayed for Jesus to make His presence and peace known to him as he went to sleep. May the bridegroom woo Simon to Himself tonight. That’s living to love with Jesus, and the result will be hearts full of joy like at any wedding.
I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of “giving it forward,” so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.
