The Church is the Bride of Christ . . . Not Me as an Individual

 The verse I've had quoted to me the most when I express a desire to be married is one that is taken out of context to try to present a solution. 

The challenge is, I'm not looking for the person I'm talk to for a solution to that desire. I'm looking for someone to listen and acknowledge that unfulfilled desire I expressed.

But, more than I wish someone would just listen, I with the context for the Scripture quoted would be paid attention to. We do ourselves a dis-service in our understanding of Scripture when we take verses out of context. We miss the richness of Scripture and what God is actually saying.

The context of a verse is vitally important to understanding it properly. The verses around it, the book of the Bible, and the Bible as a whole play a big part in how we understand a particular verse. We need to look at it all before we quote a verse or part of a verse as an answer to someone.

So, now that that's out of the way, what verse am I talking about?

It's actually just six words out of a verse. Isaiah 54:5 begins this way: "For your Maker is your husband . . ." I can't count the number of times I've had these words said to me, typically prefaced by, "well, you know the Bible says . . ." when I express a desire for a husband. 

Not only do these words ignore or belittle the desire I just expressed, they misappropriate a few words of Scripture.

These words in Isaiah are spoken to the nation of Israel, not to individuals. Isaiah is talking about the hope to come for the nation. These are God's words to the nation He has chosen out of all the nations on earth at the time.

When I've pushed back on the use of these words from Isaiah, I've often received the comment that we are the bride of Christ so it applies today. Except, again Scripture talks about the church as the bride of Christ, not individuals. We get things confused when we try to make things that apply to the church as a whole, apply to the individual.

It doesn't mean there's nothing in Scripture that applies to the individual. But, I think we need to be careful that our individualistic culture doesn't cause us to to misapply what is written in Scipture by assuming it's all about the individual.

So, what do we do with this?

Ultimately, it comes down to listening and being present with people instead of looking for a verse or two to throw at them.

You may not understand the specific unfulfilled desire I'm expressing, but I know that if you're human you have desires and things you're waiting for. In those moments, you can draw on that experience to encourage someone.

But, most of all, don't take Scripture out of context to try to present a solution. That hurts more than you just being there with me.