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).
Under His Wings
Vernon Grounds, American theologian and Christian educator, tells a story of Indian evangelist, Sundar Singh:
[Singh] once wrote about a forest fire in the Himalayan mountains that he witnessed while traveling. As many people were trying to put out the flames, a group of onlookers noticed a tree whose branches had begun to catch fire. A mother bird flew frantically in circles above the tree. Chirping in distress, she seemed to be seeking help for her chicks still inside the nest. As the nest began to burn, the mother bird did not fly away. Instead, she dove down and covered her little ones with her wings. In an instant, she and her chicks were consumed by the flames.
Singh then said to the people,
"We have just witnessed something extraordinary. God created a bird with such great love and devotion that it was willing to give its life to protect its young … "
Singh concluded,
That is the kind of love that made Him come down from heaven and become human. That love also made Him willing to suffer and die for all of us.”
This story stands as a remarkable illustration of Christ’s love for us. We too stand in awe as we reflect on the holy fire of judgment that burned upon Calvary. There Christ was willing to suffer and “bear our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24).