MARRIAGE - Two rivers come together as one!

BILLBOARD WEDLOCK [Mark 10:2-9]

A Pennsylvania bride-to-be coveted an elaborate, therefore expensive wedding. But her want exceeded her supply. So she and her fiancée decided to get some help paying for the fancy affair. The couple decided to sell advertising. They offered various space on their invitations and as well as displays at the ceremony itself ... instead of saying, “I do,” the bride said, “Did somebody say McDonalds?”

Divorce is a major problem for the church; the divorce rate among Christians (in Western, developed nations) is tracking that of the non-Christian world. With this we know for certain the institution of marriage is in big trouble. Marriage is not respected as it once was; it has become a fashionable but temporary convenience for many.

A parallel problem is the intrusion of the world into the church. One would expect the world to conceive of advertising at a marriage ceremony but who would anticipate a man of God performing such a service while invoking the name of God?

[The Sacramento Bee, 18 August 1999]


TAKE A SEAT! [Genesis 2:24; other topics - love; relationships, renewal] (added 28 January 2006)

Rebecca was looking through the family photo album with her grandmother, she was fascinated with the sepia-style pictures and old-fashioned clothing. As she leafed through the pages, her grandmother identified various family members and friends.

Rebecca noticed there were no photographs of her grandparents standing together, they were always seated. When she asked why this was, her grandmother explained, "I was six inches taller than your grandfather and he was sensitive about it.

"Grandma," Rebecca asked, "how could you have fallen in love with a man six inches shorter than you?" "Honey," she said, "we fell in love sitting down, and when I stood up, it was too late."

Rebecca's grandmother instinctively pointed out a fact relative to romance and marriage: we really do fall in love sitting down. In other words, early in a relationship, it is easy to overlook our partner's shortcomings.

If, in your current relationship, you and your partner are figuratively standing up, you probably don't recall the things you regarded as important when you first fell in love, things you now take for granted. This is probably true of the relationship as well. So, why not just sit down? You never meant to drift apart, it just happened.

Day boaters on the Niagara River, above the famous honeymoon falls, are warned -- there is a point of no return. There is a point on the river, beyond which, you will be swept over the falls. You won’t be able to recover your course. In marriage, the same is true. What are you waiting for, the point of no return?

If you and your partner are standing and the things which divide you are more apparent than the things which bring you together, sit down and reflect on what brought you together.

[Adapted from “The Duet” by David Sisler in Agape Press, February 7, 2002]

Relationships

Love Thy Neighbor [Leviticus 19:18]

Connie Cavanaugh relates how her sister, during a dozen moves, practiced the neighborly custom of introducing herself to her new neighbors. She was also faithful in welcoming other newcomers.

During one rather hectic recent move, Lisa neglected meeting her new neighbors. She rationalized that it was just a rental house and that she could do better when they moved into their permanent home. Besides, there was only one neighbor anyway ... “the big, scruffy fellow ... who was always puttering in his yard in baggy overalls.” His wife was housebound with a newborn.

Winter hit with a vengeance. One really bad December day, her husband at the office, Lisa was just barely able to get the kids off to school.

Finding herself with a free moment she sat down to enjoy a second cup of coffee and scan the morning paper. The headlines reported a very horrifying and graphic story of home invasion. The victim, a woman home alone, was beaten and robbed. Shaken, Lisa prayed for the woman and her family.

Suddenly, she heard footfalls on the porch; the doorbell rang. Assuming it was her sister frozen in the Arctic weather, she rushed to the door and flung it open.

Filling the doorway was a giant stranger, handsomely dressed and smelling of cologne. “My car won’t start. Can you give me a boost?” he thundered. Lisa mind flashed to this morning’s headline, remembering the criminal had used a ruse to gain entry. She grew lightheaded.
She said something about not having cables. He responded, “I’ve got my own. I just need your car. Give me the keys, I’ll do it myself.” He stepped through the open door, smirking and acting oddly familiar.

Grasping at straws she blurted out, “Ask the guy next door; he’s a landscaper ... he’s always hanging around the house. And he’s very big!” The latter just for insurance.

“That house?” the stranger asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Right there,” Lisa trembled.

“Ask the guy who lives there?” The brute mocked, as if he didn’t understand the first time.

“Yes!” She whined emphatically. “I’m sure he’s home.”

To which the monster retorted, “But, Lisa, I am that guy!”

We need to get to know neighbors before we love them.

[Connie Cavanaugh, “The thug next door;” On Mission, a publication of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention; Vol. 2, No. 3, July-August 1999, 29]