It was the day we had been looking forward to for months, and it dawned hot and beautiful. The music was rehearsed. The vows were memorized. The preacher was prepared. The punch was mixed. The gowns and tuxedos miraculously fit.
The sanctuary was air conditioned, but the fellowship hall was not, so we had to put the cake in the refrigerator to keep the icing from melting!
A lot of money went into the day: dresses, tuxedos, invitations, travel, decorations, cake, flowers, and a hundred other little things, along with gratuities for the organist, the guitarist, and the pastor. Then, in a blur of whites and pastels, veils and patent leather, it was over. The crowd was gone, the cake was eaten or put away, the leftovers wrapped and stored.
All for what? Forty-five minutes of ceremonious pageantry? A couple of hours with friends and family?
Of course not. What it was all for was to show how important commitment is.
That’s why we put so much into weddings. Not to show off the bride. Not to build a monument to the prosperity of somebody’s family. Not to satisfy the wishes of a mother who didn’t have a nice wedding herself. Not for the romance, or the presents, or the party.
A wedding is a showcase for a life-changing, life-long commitment, and that’s why we make such a big deal of it: we don’t want the commitment to be made haphazardly or without solemn forethought and intentionality. By the way, that’s also why more and more pastors are requiring three or four months of pre-marital preparation. After all, a wedding lasts a few minutes: a marriage is supposed last a lifetime.
Commitments are critical to our growth as God’s creatures, because we become what we're committed to.
Whenever you make a commitment, at that moment you don’t yet measure up to it. For example, when I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I barely had a minimal grasp of that commitment: all I knew is that I was giving my life to Jesus. Yet, to this day, forty-four years after I was born again, the commitment I made continues to draw me further on. The fact that I committed to follow Jesus keeps pulling me higher up and further into His plans for me.
I could not do it on my own, without the accountability of commitment. I probably wouldn’t give of myself, or strive to serve God, or put my wife and family first, if I hadn’t promised God I’d try to do so, and hadn’t asked for His help. The commitment I made is what keeps me growing.
That’s why God expects people to keep making commitments. It is only as you keep growing that you stay effective and productive in your relationship with Jesus! It is only as you make solid, Spirit-led commitments that you grow up into them.
Are you committed to following Jesus? Is it time for a fresh commitment to Jesus, to your church or to your family?
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3 comments:
Pastor John,
I really liked this post. I was actually talking to a friend last night about weddings. We have the ceremony in order to be held accountable and make public our committment to one another. Jess and I feel like we're virtually married already, but the ceremony is really where the committment hits home and becomes important. I don't know if it makes any sense, but this post went right along with what I was discussing with a friend last night.
I enjoy your blog. I don't comment ever, until now, but I enjoy it. K, bye.
Doug
Hay Pastor John,
I was surfin' through Laura's blog and found a link to yours. I'm really glad I did! You're always so insightful!
It's weird, at the church I'm going to up her in Fort Collins, they're doing like an eight week course on marriage and today's sermon was about commitment, communication and team work and how marriage and any relationship (had to keep the college students awake)requires these three aspects.
I'll have to come back at an earlier time and read your other posts. God Bless!!
Annaleigh
Doug,
Hey, man, thanks! Sometimes I wonder if it ever even gets read. Nice to know that maybe three people read it: me, Laura and now you. Cool!
John<><
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