"We aren't individual brides of Christ; we are collectively the bride of Christ. Christ is not a polygamist. He will be married to one bride, not millions. We belong to each other and need each other. We should guard not only our own purity, but each other's. We are our brother's keeper" (Heaven, p. 193).
So that's why it makes sense that I am His favorite - and so are you! He loves and desires us individually as an intrinsic, unique part of His bride. We do not lose our identity, but while we become more truly ourselves, we also become more completely one with each other. He created us to be His friends, for fellowship and community with Him and each other. When, as His friends, we forsook Him for our own way (sin), He upped the ante. Not content merely to restore us to our original state, He gave Himself to us more completely than ever. He decided to rescue us from ourselves and then marry us!
We cannot separate ourselves from each other. We are one Bride. We are connected more deeply than we understand. We must look out for each other, love each other, pray for each other . . . for "we, being many, are one body" (Romans 12:5).
Lord, help me to look at others differently, to love them as I love myself in real, practical ways, remembering that we are intrinsically connected as Your beloved.
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