Here at GPCC, we are looking forward to a wedding in just under three weeks. Most people enjoy a wedding. Invitations have gone out and responses been received; preparations are being made, with more to come. People are getting ready and are both nervous and looking forward to the big day. Weddings are opportunities for celebration and joy, but they are also significant, not just for the day itself but for the new start they signify: the first day of two lives committed to each other for life, until death separates.
Nowadays, weddings are seen as something of a luxury: meals can cost £120 per person, which with 100 guests adds up to £12,000 for a meal alone! Weddings can be held in exotic (and expensive) locations. Some feel there’s no point in spending so much money on one day and therefore spurn marriage altogether. Others see weddings as a legality, used ‘for tax purposes’ or to make sure you’re eligible for pension rights. Others see weddings and marriage as an unnecessary tradition or something which restricts and is a duty only. God’s take on marriage is very different. He tells us it gives structure to society and is the training ground for individuals, teaching them to learn to put others first and live a life of sacrifcial love.
In Eph 5:25-32 we see that human marriage mirrors the divine relationship we have with Christ. That relationship is likened to marriage, with Christ as the bridegroom and the church as the bride (Rev 19:5-9, Rev 21:1-3) Human marriage and weddings foreshadow the relationship between God and the church and remind us that Jesus gave Himself for all – the invitiation to the wedding is there for everyone. Jesus will come again for His bride, for all who respond.
2 Pet 3:3-7 reminds us that Jesus will come again and we therefore have a duty and responsibility to share the good news of the gospel now, while we still have opportunity. We need to be serious about this task and pray for people, for conversations and for conversions.