Wow. Walking down that aisle was probably the longest 50 feet that I’ve
ever walked. I don’t think I could ever express everything that I was thinking and
feeling as we took those precious steps. In a way, I didn’t want it to end. And
yet I’m quite pleased that it has ended right here at this altar, with you Ryan,
waiting for her. And now, this one step you are taking is going to take you much
further than any distance we can measure by metres or feet. You guys are going
on an adventure!
As I’ve watched your relationship blossom, I think it’s fair to say
that both of you seem to enjoy looking for adventure. How many times did you go
hiking in the Whiteshell, or go out in all kinds of weather for walks around
Winnipeg parks? There was that day Becky came home sopping wet because she said
that the “puddle” she’d stepped into was deeper than she thought. And when I
asked her specifically where they went, I said, Becky, that wasn’t a puddle –
that was a “ditch!” But it was also an adventure!
And now the adventure continues as you take this step today. And mark
my words: It’s a dangerous business
taking this step. You step down this aisle, “and
if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off
to!” You have chosen a beautiful Scripture passage to be read on this
wonderful occasion, and one that fits the theme of adventure.
So let’s read 1 John 4:7-12. “Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born
of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God
is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his
only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love,
not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love
one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us
and his love is perfected in us.” (ESV)
The love that is spoken of in this passage is an adventurous love. It’s
a love that embarks, a love that sacrifices, a love that excites, and a love
that travels great distances to achieve lofty goals! It’s a love full of challenges
and rewards. Some might think it sounds a fitting passage for a wedding because
of all the talk of love: the word love is
used 13x in those six verses. But God and His Son, Jesus, are also mentioned
13x in those six verses. So as an accountant Ryan, you’d be interested in
knowing that those 2 words account for 21% of the 123 words in those six
verses!
But do you see
the adventure in the God and in the love this passage speaks of? – This God of
whom it is said: “God is love”? Do you see the excitement of it all? The God
who sent His Son Jesus from heaven to visit this world to proclaim and
demonstrate a message – the message that God is setting up His Kingdom in the
hearts and lives of people like you and me so that He can show us what it truly
means to live! And that same Jesus showed the world God’s amazing love as He
gave His very life to pay the penalty for every act of rebellion humanity has
ever expressed against God! And then, while the world waited in astonishment,
God raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him heaven’s throne! That is the adventure this passage speaks
of when it speaks of this love from God.
And may I suggest that the step you are now taking is a part of that adventure?
You see, the adventurous “love” this passage speaks of is what the Bible calls
a “covenant” love – meaning a love that God solemnly commits to, guaranteeing
promises that He includes in the covenant relationship that He initiates and
invites us into with Him. And marriage – which has always been God’s idea – is
meant to be an illustration, or a picture, or even a demonstration – of God’s covenant
love for us!
You see, the love expressed in your marriage is also meant to be a love
that embarks, a love that sacrifices, a love that excites, and a love that travels
great distances to achieve lofty goals! A love full of challenges and rewards. In
other words, a love that follows the example of God’s love for us.
There are people
who wonder, “What does God’s love look like?” Well, we’re told what it looks
like in what I just read: “This is love… that He loved us and sent His
Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins…” But the passage also says: “No one has ever seen God; but if we love
one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.” In other
words, our love for one another allows people to see God’s love expressed in us
by how we love each other. The Bible is not speaking here of some ordinary love
– but about Almighty God’s covenant love being expressed through us! 1 John 4
is speaking of a powerful love that can only be found in God! And when we truly
experience that everlasting covenant love, it not only motivates us to love
others, but it enables us to do so in the toughest of times when our natural and
limited ability to love fails.
This is vital for a marriage. I promise you: There will be tough times
when your natural ability to love each other as husband and wife is not
sufficient and will not last unless you have the love of God at work in your
heart! Only then will your love for each other also become a love that embarks,
and sacrifices, and travels great distances to achieve lofty goals.
You might be wondering: What “great
distance” am I talking about? Or how do we need to “embark” in order to love each
other? The great distance Jesus traveled was from heaven to earth, but the great
distance that we need to travel is the distance between our focus on self and
our focus others. The distance this requires us to travel in our hearts is proportional
to just how selfish we are capable of being. As you learn to share life
together as a couple, there will be times when you want your way and not his or
her way. And you will want to insist on doing things YOUR way! At these
moments, the distance between you will have the potential to increase until
there are many emotional miles between you. Loving one another will feel like a
long way to travel – and perhaps a great sacrifice. But if you remember the
love of God that your marriage is meant to illustrate, you’ll choose to embark
from that selfish self, and in one simple act of repentance, travel those many emotional
miles because you’re committed to loving each other the way Jesus loves you.
But that can be very difficult in the moment, and so you will truly need
God’s help as you embark on this adventure called marriage. You will need God’s
love in you in order to be a loving husband and wife. You will need His love at
work in you in order to selflessly love each other on the days when the other
doesn’t seem so lovable. And don’t be fooled into thinking that your love for
each other as husband and wife is a 50/50 kind of thing, as if you’re each
supposed to meet each other in the middle. That’s not the example God set for
us through His love. God did not ask us to meet Him in the middle. He left all
the glories of heaven to come all the way to us to show His love to us. Loving
one another is not a 50/50 proposition – nor is it a 60/40 proposition, or
70/30, or 80/20… You can see where I'm going with this... It’s 100/0.
That’s how this adventure you’re embarking on involves sacrifice: You
must give all of yourself to love the other, dying to self in order to prefer
the other person. If you’re on an exciting adventure, do you hold back and pursue
it half-heartedly? NO! You give it all you’ve got! You jump off
that cliff with both feet and make the most of that time! Well, that’s how I
want you to think of this marriage and of loving one another – you’re all in,
ready to make sacrifices, and to go the distance, embarking on an adventure
like nothing you’ve ever done before!
But to do this, you’ll need to continually depend on God for the love you will need to survive the dangerous business of stepping down this aisle! So make Jesus the Lord of the adventure you begin with each other today, and Jesus will help you to love each other the way He loves you.
© 2017 by Ken Peters
But to do this, you’ll need to continually depend on God for the love you will need to survive the dangerous business of stepping down this aisle! So make Jesus the Lord of the adventure you begin with each other today, and Jesus will help you to love each other the way He loves you.
© 2017 by Ken Peters
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