December
weddings are my favorite. They are elegantly
filled with white dresses, flowers in an assortment of red, white and green, handsome
young men in suites, faces filled smiles and tears, parents of delight and
friends of excitement. They are a symbolic
and gorgeous gift.
They
remind me of the most wonderful gift of all: Jesus Christ. Luke 2:11-12: “11 For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a Savior, who is Christ the
Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find
a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."
All
weddings are a gift, a gift unity.
A promise “to be a faithful and true, to “love,
comfort and keep,” “forsaking all others,” “remaining true” “as long as you both shall live,” wedding and
endowing “all my worldly goods, in sickness and in health, in poverty or in
wealth, 'til death do us part.”
They are
a beautiful union of three: the bride, the groom and God. They are a lifelong commitment. They are committing to be faithful, to remain
true and pure to one another before friends and family. They are allowing those dear to them to keep
them accountable during sickness and health, poverty and wealth, until they
die. They are giving each other their time, affections, wealth and lack thereof.
Wow.
That doesn’t leave any room for giving or living erroneously! And then to follow the command in Ephesians 5:22-33:
Wife:
love your husband and submit lovingly to him because he is called to love you with
a Christ-like love.
Husband:
love your wife like Christ sacrificially loves his children. Love her better than you love yourself. You would never want your body to go without
anything, so don’t let her go without that which you wouldn’t go without. Love her
so that she maybe holy and blameless then she will be loved and nurtured like Christ
loves the Church.
To love each other and live together for the rest of their lives like that is huge! This charge is ginormous, yes
ginormous. What kind of true and pure love most compel such actions!
Many
of my dear friends have married in December, Lizbet, Julianna, and
Lindsey. I am thankful for their weddings and more so for their marriages.
Thankful they accepted the challenge to love
like Christ and display his love to the World. For
these sweet friends, and all of my married friends, I pray blessings and a deepening of their love.
Ephesians
6:24 “Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.”
