The Faithful Groomsman

My parents had dear friends that I called Aunt and Uncle.
Though they were not truly related to me, it felt like they were.
They had two houses when everyone else only had one.
Their second house was at the shore.

It was so much fun visiting Aunt Mary and Uncle Jim.
My parents became friends with them through adoption.
They had two adopted sons and helped my parents with the process of adopting me.

It was always wonderful going to their shore home.
They had a small motorboat, which their older son was very capable of handling.
My mother reluctantly gave permission for me to go out in the boat.
Not liking the water, she stayed on land.

It was great fun.
I can still remember the bulky life jackets and the smell of exhaust from the engine.
Back in the house after our time on the boat, we went up into a small attic.
We were looking for another fishing pole.
Something startled me.

As I got to the top of the stairs, I saw two eyes staring back at me.
I turned and ran, looking for my mother or Aunt Mary.
She saw that something had frightened me and asked me about it.

At the top of the stairs, I saw two eyes looking…
She smiled knowingly and told me that I had just seen Jocko.
Jocko was a lawn ornament.
He was a little man holding a lantern.

She told me that someone had given him to her as a gift.
I couldn’t refuse the gift, but I never wanted him to be out on the lawn.
Why? I asked forgetting my fear for the moment.
Because of the way he died.

She told me the story of young Jocko Graves who served with General Washington.
Washington was ready to cross the Delaware to attack the British forces at Trenton, NJ.
General Washington gave Jocko an important job, since he was too young to fight.

Washington kept Jocko on the Pennsylvania side of the River, to keep him from danger.
He asked him to take care of the horses and keep a light burning on the riverbank.
This young boy’s lantern would guide the soldiers home.

It was winter when Washington crossed the Delaware.
The men were not dressed for the weather; the ice and the snow took its toll.
Legend says that Jocko was faithful to his post and faithful to Washington’s orders.
He never left the riverbank and froze to death, with the lantern in his hand.

General Washington, upon his return, was moved by the faithfulness of the young boy.
Washington has a statue sculpted in Jocko’s honor.
It was placed at his Mount Vernon estate.
The sculpture was called The Faithful Groomsman.

Aunt Mary was moved as well by the story of Jocko.
He is so much more than a lawn ornament, she said.
He was a man of honor and devotion; he was a young hero…

There was another faithful groomsman.

To this, John (the Baptist) replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. 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. He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:27-30)

John the Baptist was a Groomsman.
He was the friend who attends the Bridegroom, who is Christ.

In the Jewish culture, the faithful groomsman would wait and listen for the bridegroom.
When the bridegroom finally came, the faithful groomsman would blow the shofar.
The bride and her attendants anxiously awaited the bridegroom’s return.
When they heard the shofar, they were filled with joy.

We, the Church of God, are the Bride.
The Bride makes herself ready.
She waits for her Bridegroom to come back and bring her with Him.

She never knows when the Bridegroom will come back to get her.
He went to prepare a place for her in His home.
Not even the groomsman, the friend of the bridegroom, knows when He will return.

The Faithful Groomsman announces the coming of the Bridegroom.
The trumpet will sound.
No one knows the day or the hour.
Only the Father knows.

The devoted, Faithful Groomsman.
The long awaited Bridegroom.
The ever-ready Bride.

Lantern in hand.
Waiting for His return.
Ready to die if need be, but never leaving your post.
Standing guard.
Shining a light.

Are you anxiously waiting?
Are you ever-ready?
Are you faithful to your post?

The Bridegroom is coming again to take His Bride.
Wait and listen with joy!