Revelation 21:1-2

Pastors and grooms get to wait in some strange places before the wedding begins. We have waited on steep basement steps, in the shed behind the church (with the lawn tractor), over the hill, out by the trees, and the list is long. Once the groom and I were outside the back door when we got the signal to come in and take our place. The music was playing in anticipation of our entrance, but someone had locked the door. Oh, the stories I could tell of waiting moments on wedding days.

Most of the places that we wait are just far enough out of the way that you can’t see anything and can hardly hear the music. There is usually a certain tune that is played as the cue to lead the groom into the service. (But how shall we know when we cannot hear; and when shall we go when the tune is not clear.) For me, that is the most stressful part of a wedding: stretching and listening for the sound of the note that says, “All things are ready, come without delay.”

I’m still stretching and listening for another kind of wedding music: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Revelation 21:1-2

As lovers of Christ, we live somewhat like waiting behind a door for a wedding. We go about daily life with an ear open for the music and the call that “All things are ready, come.”

The Bible says to incline our heart towards God. I hope that we all are still inclined towards Heaven and still listening for the sounds of wedding music that will begin a new and everlasting day more wonderful than we can ever imagine.

The gospel song asks,

“Is That Wedding Music I Hear?
The Bride’s Adorned and Ready to Appear
There’s Heavenly Preparation for The Wedding Celebration
Is That Wedding Music That I Hear?”