Soma

I went to an incredible wedding this weekend.  It wasn’t the location that made it incredible, we were at a Rotary Lodge in the middle of nowhere, Iowa (although the snow was pretty sweet).  It wasn’t the hours and hours of planning that made it incredible, the wedding was planned in less than 3 months.  It wasn’t the astronomical budget that made it incredible, the couple kept things as absolutely simple as possible.  It wasn’t the decorations that made it incredible, although the ambiance of a fireplace was pretty sweet.  It wasn’t the pastor who made in incredible, even though I’m sure he’s a great guy.  It wasn’t the company that made it incredible, although I was there with some really fun people.  And it wasn’t even the couple that made it incredible, even though I feel like I have walked alongside them and was overjoyed at the victory that this moment represented.  What made this wedding so incredible, was that it was all about Jesus.

EVERYTHING was about Jesus.  The processional song was all about Jesus.  The welcome was about and towards Jesus.  The worship magnified Jesus.  The letters written the bride and groom wrote to each other were all about the work of Jesus.  The message was about the marriage of Jesus and the church.  The vows were shadows of the New Covenant of Jesus.  The pronouncement declared the work of Jesus.  The recessional was celebrating Jesus.  The toasts showed off Jesus.  The “thanks” were modeled after Jesus.  And that is exaclty what a wedding is supposed to be!

In our culture we repeat over and over and over again that weddings are for the bride…it’s her day.  And that is not completely wrong.  But ultimately, it’s not the bride’s day or the groom’s day.  And it’s definitely not the parents’ day.  It is Christ’s day.  It is a day and a celebration that He created to show off Himself, His love, and His passion to the world.  And last Saturday when Josh and Rochelle got married that is exactly what happened.

Spending the few hours we spent together at that celebration, I couldn’t help but be captivated by Christ’s love for us.  The passion, grace, forgiveness, love, longing, and joy in both Josh and Rochelle’s eyes taught me something more about how Christ feels about us.  I was reminded again that marriage was something that God created (before the fall) so that he might have some way to show us (by witness and by experinece) how madly, passionately, and selflessly He loves us.  It really is an incredible thing.

I love weddings.  I especially love weddings where Christ is magnified.  This weekend, as we drove away from Josh and Rochelle’s wedding (through the miles and miles of cornfields) I reallized that I was deeper in love with my Savior because of what I had witnessed.  This is not a completely foreign experience as it’s happened at weddings before.  And, I think that (in part) that’s the point.

Josh and Rochelle’s wedding was incredible.  We didn’t dance.  There was no recieving line.  We didn’t have dinner (it was a lunch reception).  There wasn’t even a large tiered cake.  But I walked away deeper in love with Jesus.  So, to my good friends, Josh and Rochelle (who are currently on their honeymoon in Montana where it is 30-degrees below zero), on behalf of all those who were able to share that day with you, “Thank you.  As imperfect and horribly flawed people you have experienced God’s amazing grace and extended that grace to us on your wedding day as we got to see in magnificent technicolor the beauty of Christ’s love and passion for His church.  May the same always be said of your marriage.”