December 8

“Naomi knew that Ruth needed a married life, a home, and a caretaker, and all the joys of wedded union.  In a similar way, the soul of the believer begins sooner or later to hunger and thirst after this rest in a realized union with Christ, of which the marriage union is so precious a type.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, Daily Secrets, 11/15

I think that a closer look at everything in our lives might reveal them to be a “type” also--a symbol of something to come.  Scripture tells us there is nothing new under the sun.  A popular saying is that history repeats itself.  It’s as though we’re going to have to keep going through these experiences until we get it right!  The dictionary says that it is no longer a “type” once it actually comes into being.  This is why there will be no marriage in heaven since our union with Christ will have been completed.  So I wonder what difference our earthly experiences would make if we were to view them as a foreshadowing of the real thing.  It would mean we wouldn’t put the emphasis on the here and now.  I also think it would encourage us to do what we do better.  Perhaps this is just a dress rehearsal and the better we learn our parts here the more enjoyment we’ll experience once the real deal happens.  I also think that seeing life’s events as “types” would change the way I think about my mistakes.  Mistakes are expected during a rehearsal.  It’s the night of the performance that matters. 

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”  Ephesians 5:25-27