Corpse Brides In Demand In China
A corpse bride can bring in as much as $20,000 in China. According to the staff writers at news.com.au:
This is the alarming reality facing rural families in China, who shockingly regularly discover the bodies of loved ones have gone missing. The practice is fuelled by a belief that a newly deceased bachelor must be buried alongside a woman.
According to the bizarre tradition, which was outlawed under Communism, elderly single men are given a “bride” to be buried with when they die, with some considering it bad luck to pass into the next life without a female companion.
Some believe a “ghost wedding” prevents their dead bachelor relative becoming restless and returning to haunt and bring misfortune to the family.
Ghost weddings date back 3000 years, but despite being stamped out by China’s ruling Communist party, the belief still exists, particularly in rural areas. The ghoulish ritual involves a corpse being reburied next to the dead man while drums are played in front of relatives.
These poor people suffer from an uninformed fear of death, seeking better "luck" to navigate its mysteries. And to make matters worse, they fear the dead themselves, seeking to placate them so as not to be haunted.
Ultimately, what this ancient culture suffers from is the lack of influence of the Gospel. Not understanding the joys and assurances that a knowledge of the Truth brings, the void has been filled with superstition and fear.
It is not a corpse bride you need by your side as you journey from life into death. It's The One Who conquered death itself. In Christ, and in Christ alone, death loses its sting.
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:55).
Additional Application:
What these bachelors need in death isn’t a dead bride, but a resurrected Groom!
“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” (2 Corinthians 11:2).
The Ugly Bride
A man in Algiers is seeking $20,000 in damages for the psychological suffering he endured after waking up from his honeymoon with an ugly bride. The lawsuit was filed the day after the wedding when the groom claimed that his wife defrauded him by wearing heavy makeup until the morning after the wedding.
There’s no chance Jesus is waking up with an ugly bride! The Church, The Bride of Christ, need not fear that the make-up of her pretenses will be wiped away, exposing her flaws. That’s because, as His bride, we will be adorned in the robes of His righteousness. On that day, the Bride of Christ will never be more beautiful!
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7).
Protecting Your Identity
Occasionally I will check my credit report to make sure no one has stolen my identity. On one occasion, I could not remember my user name for the Experian website. So, I clicked on the "Forgot Username" button to have it sent to me by e-mail.
Then they wanted my birthdate and my Social Security number. Ten minutes later the e-mail arrived with my username. I went back to the Experian website and logged in without any difficulty.
But logging in was not enough. I remained locked out until I typed in the six-digit number they texted to my phone. Finally, I was in and the screen said, "Thank you for helping keep your identity secure!"
Experian goes to great lengths to protect my identity. To log in as me, a thief would have to know my email, my login, my birthdate, my SS number, my cell number, and have my cell phone in their possession. If someone had all that information they would be able to impersonate me, take out loans in my name, and cause me great harm.
Of even greater value, though, is my identity in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." This new identity is also worth protecting.
According to Jesus, there is a thief who would like to steal this identity, and he does this by lying to us about who we are and what we have been given in Christ (John 10:10).
We must be vigilant to maintain a strong sense of our spiritual identity in Christ, at least as vigilantly as Experian fights to protect our personal identity in this world.
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:4,5, NKJV)