The One Year Coffee with God: 365 Devotions to Perk Up Your Day

by Sarah Arthur

Lord, I’m having trouble with the idea of your people (Israel; the church) as your bride. Carlo Carretto wrote, “It is difficult to make a marriage between two persons who are in such different circumstances. He brings you his all, while you can only bring him your nothing.”[47] That image of marriage unsettles me. My husband and I strive to find balance, to shoulder responsibilities based on strengths and gifts, to build an egalitarian model of marriage in which neither is in charge but both “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). But between you, Lord, and the church, there is definitely an imbalance. She could never be a worthy bride for you, and yet you call her so. She owes you a debt she could never hope to repay—one that should rightfully make her your slave—and yet you waive it all to have her beside you, free and freely loving you. Her love for you will never be as great as yours for her, yet still you would have her. Somehow her flaws and failures don’t push you away, though at times she makes you angry. In the end, her home is by your side for all eternity—though she is there by grace and grace alone. What prompted this betrothal in the first place? What prompted your desire to be more than just our Father but our Bridegroom, too? Were you lonely, God? Like Adam, was it not good for you to be alone? Did you long for conversation? Did you yearn for human companionship? I’m sorr...