Front Row Christian

I have friends getting married today.  Dear friends.  They stem from different back grounds with different environments in which they were raised.  One a long time believer, another born again more recently.  The way they found one another and the content of their caring is pretty inspiring.

As much as I would love to write this story, it really isn’t mine to tell.  Suffice it to say every person you’ve never known is worthy of God’s love.  So are those you know.  He’s such a benevolent and wonderful Lord that it truly is hard on days like today to believe anything other.  I know, just like the happy couple, that I’m flying high because I’m so thankful and excited for the joy and pleasure associated with their wedding.  I also know the only reason marriages survive are two essential parts.

(Edit- I wrote above that every person you have ever and have never known are all worthy of God’s love.  That really isn’t accurate and I didn’t choose my words well enough.  What I should have written was:  Despite being sinful people, God loves us anyway.  …And he loves all of us.  How else do you explain salvation?)

1, You have to embrace your joy every time you can find it.  2, Because you embraced your joy when you had it, you’ll have solace in Him to get you through the times when you lack it.

I promise you your split on the good/bad mix of life might be weighted pretty heavily towards the ‘bad’ more than you bargained for.  We don’t tend to put much time and effort into preparation for the hard times.  Yet, we should.  …And it is darned funny what the best methods are to accomplish that task.  All you have to do to get the basics under your belt is read the Good Book.  That’s it.  That’s the secret.  That’s the foundation.  If you are biblically literate, you’ve got a jump on the majority of the couples on your block.  I guarantee it.  With any luck you have a good pastor too.  That helps.  You need the Word and you need the context associated with why it was written.

Life is going to dump some nastiness in your lap.  Big time.  That doesn’t count the poo you’ll step in all by yourself.  So the best defense in this case is a strong offense.  When you prepare yourself well, you’ll be better armed to handle the lemons life inevitably hands you.  …And I’m being kind.  You won’t always have somebody lobbing up lemons into the air in a gentle arc to catch like an egg when you were kids at vacation bible school out in the church lawn.  Nope.  Sometimes life will chock that lemon like a 98mph fastball right into the back your head.  Makes it a little tougher to envision making lemonade out of a lemon that cracked your beanie by surprise doesn’t it?  Yet, that’s our mandate.  …And it can be done.  Couples do it every day.

I believe to my core these two are prepared.  My prayer and hope is they continue preparations.  For if they do, they’ll likely have kids, raise up great children that go on to live well by Him, and so on…  If you don’t have the Almighty in your corner, you’re just not as up to the task as you could be.

I really like parts of Ephesians when I think about marriage and how a secret to a healthy marriage is to always put the other first.  Ephesians 5:25 – Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her

Be salt and seek light my friends.  John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”