Friend of the Groom

 

While preparing for my friend's daughter's wedding this weekend, I was reminded of how wonderful it is to have many friends. It's truly beautiful to see everyone come together to help. While the friends of the bride and groom are the most honored guests on the wedding day itself, a lot of serving happens behind the scenes in the days prior.

In the days leading up to the ceremony, friends of the bridal family come together to assist with all the preparations. This often involves hours of selfless service, from baking desserts and arranging table settings to decorating and cleaning up after the celebration. Friends of the bridal party are not like the other ordinary guests. They make themselves completely available to the bride and groom, ready to wait on them with any requests and tasks that need to be done. Yes, they are the most honored guests, but they also voluntarily dedicate much of their time and service to the bride and groom.

I also remembered John, who shared a similar experience of being a friend of Jesus. He referred to himself as a "friend of the groom." John had the privilege of being very close to Jesus in public, but he also spoke about the behind-the-scenes aspects of being His friend.

 

John states, “The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.” (John 3:29)

 

Behind the scenes, the bridegroom's friend attends to Jesus (the groom). This role often involves countless hours of quiet waiting at Jesus's feet. John emphasizes that the friend waits and listens to His voice, dedicating time to quiet devotion to truly hear Him speak to the heart. He concludes that this is, in fact, his greatest joy. The best part of their friendship is the intimate, private moments he gets to spend with Jesus, attending and listening to him.