Most weddings would not be complete without the Best Man or Maid of Honor to stand as witnesses. This honorary title of Best Man comes to the groom's best friend in life. This is the truest friend he could ever have. This friend knows the groom better than anyone and is loyal. Their friendship has grown over the years because of trust. The best friend has learned to respond to the voice of his friend and believes what is told to him. This forms an unbreakable bond, they are "brothers" so to speak.

Everything God set up in the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of Christ in the New Testament. God laid down the foundation of what was to come through His Son Jesus. God spoke of the relationship between Him and His children of Israel as a Bridegroom and His Bride.

"And I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and mercy." Hosea 2:19 (Amplified)

God made it no secret that the relationship we are to have with Him is like a coveted vow between a husband and a wife. Our faithfulness to Him will secure our eternity with Him. He does not look kindly on infedelity. You can read God's remarks on this when He dealt with the people in Israel for marrying daughters of foreign gods (Mal. 2:11)

Once Christ came on the scene, He fulfilled all the prophesy and law in the Old Testament. Christ Himself came as the Bridegroom and the church is to be His Bride, taken in a sacred, holy marriage. Did Christ have a best man? Yes, his name was John the Baptist. Let's look at the role of the best man in John and how it compares to our role today as the Best Man to the Bridegroom.

No. 1. His first role as bestman is to do everything the bridegroom asks of him. He stands by and listens for instructions and follows them without question.

"He who has the bride is the bridgroom; but the groomsman who stands by and listens to him rejoices greatly and heartily on account of the bridegroom's voice. This then is my pleasure and joy, and it is now complete." John 2:29 (Amplified)

No. 2. He has to stand back and allow the bridegroom to have the center spotlight.

"He must increase, but I must decrease. (He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.)" John 2:30 (Amplified)

No. 3. It's the best man's job to unite the bride and bridegroom and step aside. There is no jealousy.

(Read vs. 29) "This then is my pleasure and joy, and it is now complete."

No. 4. In the days of the traditional Jewish weddings, a tent was set up for the newlyweds. The celebration would continue for a week. The bride would enter into the tent before her new husband and while she was waiting there for him, the best man would guard the tent and make sure that no false lover would gain entrance. Today, we must guard our hearts against intruders who want to seperate us from the love of Christ with false teachings and doctrine. When we have a bestman such as a pastor, teacher, minister or friend who guards our relationship with Christ as sacred, they will stand outside and prevent an illicit love affair from ever happening. We all must take the role of a Best Man and guard others from being fooled on their wedding night.

No. 5. The Best Man will rejoice and be happy for the Bridegroom. He knows the Bridegroom came for the Bride and the Best Man is happy to step aside and let the union take place.

(Read vs. 29) "This then is my pleasure and joy, and it is now complete."

By doing these things, the Best Man;s job is complete in doing what he promised to do. He united them in matrimony.

When we listen to others who are taught in the Word of God and bring it to us, we are like sheep who hear our master's voice. Sometimes however, the voice we hear is not of our master. Many Christians get fooled into hearing the wrong directions. They are easily trapped into believing that God speaks in powerful and mighty ways and they can't discern whether it's really God or not. How can we tell? Here is one way to make sure.

"And He said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire (a sound of gentle stillness and) a still, small voice." 1 Kings 19:11-12 (Amplified)

The Best Man learns to hear the voice of the Bridegroom. He doesn't have to scream and shout. He speaks with a quiet and gentle tone. Don't get pulled into emotional excitement. We are in such a time as this where there are so many other voices out there competing for our attention and if we don't recognize the voice of the Bridegroom, we will soon perish.

"(Hark!) An uproar from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the Lord, rendering recompense to His enemies!" Isaiah 66:6 (Amplified)

Today we have so many outside distractions. We hear voices coming from every direction. We hear voices from the city which is the world in general. These can be quite overbearing. We hear voices from the temples, which is the religions of the world, all claiming to know the real truth and then there is THE VOICE of the Lord. Those who do not recognize His voice are considered His enemies.

But Jesus refered to sheep hearing voices of strangers many times. He says that even the sheep will run from the strange voice. Are we not smarter than sheep? Christ calls us all by name. He doesn't want a long distance relationship with us and He doesn't want any false shepherds to tell you that you are unworthy to come to Him. Don't be deceived by a false lover.

"But you do not believe and trust and rely on Me because you do not belong to My fold (you are no sheep of Mine). The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I will know them, and they will follow Me." John 10:26-27 (Amplified)

God has already spoken to His children and He wants us all to know His Voice. When we are asked to be the Best Man, we will hear only His voice which has come for us to be a part of the grand wedding ceremony. He speaks to us for our own sakes'. Don't take orders from a voice you do not recognize as the Bridegroom's.

"(Rather, I will say) Father, glorify (honor and extol) Your (own) name! Then there came a voice out of heaven saying, I have already glorified it, and I will glorify it again. The crowd of bystanders heard the sound and said that it had thundered; others said, An angel has spoken to Him! Jesus answered, This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sake." John 12:28-30 (Amplified)

The people who were standing by were not sure what they had heard. Some thought it was thunder, others thought it was an angel who was speaking to Jesus. Let's not make that same mistake today. Learn to hear your Bridegroom's voice through the leading of your pastor, preacher, minister, or teacher who has been asked to be the Best Man for the job. He is speaking to you for your sake, because he already knows the true Bridegroom's voice and has vowed to unite you with Him in a sacred and holy union.

I pray that you will hear only the voice of the Bridegroom and do all the honored duties that will bring His Bride to Him. This is a great honor and it requires obedience and faithfulness. This is a job for a steward who is willing to care for the things that do not belong to him. It's a willingness to stand back and decrease because you are finite and allow the Bridegroom to increase because He is heavenly and infinite.

If you can fill the shoes of a Best Man, Jesus will fill your heart with love as a Bride.

Vivian Gordon writes inspirational and spiritual articles in which to help strengthen the Believer's walk in Christ. They are often taken from today's point of view and used in conjunction with what God says about certain situations and how we are to handle them. There is always an answer for every problem. These articles are not all about asking God "why?" but in finding the answers.