After the death of her beloved husband, a certain Christian woman felt saddened by these words of Jesus: "In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage" (Mt. 22:30). Intensely missing her husband and the life they had enjoyed together, she thought of heaven without marriage as drab compared to the satisfying life she and her husband cherished on earth.

During the early days of my own widowhood, I fully accepted the reality of heaven without marriage. Yet I felt I was overlooking something vital. And I was! While meditating one day on God's promises about heaven, my earthbound brain woke up to the realization that Jesus didn't say heaven would be without marriage, only without earthly marriage. In Revelation 19:6-9, we're told that everyone heading for heaven is heading for a celestial wedding, banquet and all! It's the long-planned marriage of God's Lamb to His long-prepared bride, God's redeemed people.

As we continue to get ready for it, let's remember this: Although the marriage of the Lamb is wonderfully foreshadowed by Christian marriage on earth (Eph. 5:23-27), it is an event all redeemed people can look forward to. It's our wedding!  — Joanie Yoder